No, Salzburg Airport does not have a help desk for travellers who mistake Austria for Australia

A picture of a signboard is viral on social media. It has the following text: “Sorry, this is Austria not Australia! Need help? Please press the button. Commend provides Security and Communication. From Salzburg to the rest of the world. Even for the most unlikely of situations”. Several users claim that the Salzburg Airport in Austria has a special desk for travellers who accidentally flew to Austria instead of Australia.

A verified account on X (formerly Twitter), @Britain_People, shared the picture of the signboard, “More than 100 passengers a year fly to Austria when they meant to fly to Australia. So Salzburg Airport has a special counter for them.” The tweet has over 1,608 views, 40 likes and 16 retweets. (Archive)

FUN FACT (Via @nazirafzal)

More than 100 passengers a year fly to Austria when they meant to fly to Australia.

So Salzburg Airport has a special counter for them. pic.twitter.com/ilzuRP3HXe

— Britain People (@Britain_People) October 15, 2023

An Instagram page, @traveltipsbyjackie, also amplified the claim in a video, stating, “If you’re having a bad day, just remember that the airport in Salzburg, Austria has a counter for people who flew to Austria instead of Australia.” The video has been played over 30 million times and has garnered over 18,766 comments. (Archive)

Fact Check

Salzburg Airport made an official statement on its Facebook page clarifying that the signboard was an advertisement by Commend Internationals, an intercom company based in Austria. The official statement mentioned, “Austria or Australia ? Is there really a switch at Salzburg Airport for passengers who mistaken Austria for Australia? This curious question has come to us very often the last few days and went viral on social media. Requests from Washington to Sydney have sparked our info points. But to be clear: NO, such a switch has never existed! It was just a genius advertising idea from our customer Commend International , who advertised at the airport with the slogan “Austria not Australia!”

The signboard in the viral picture also mentions that “Commend provides Security and Communication. From Salzburg to the rest of the world. Even for the most unlikely of situations.” along with the company’s website details, thus confirming that the signboard is indeed a marketing gimmick.

A closer look at the viral image also reveals that the signboard is placed in front of the luggage area in the airport. This confirms that the viral picture depicts an advertisement on a signboard and not an actual help desk.

To sum up, social media users have shared an advertisement sign and falsely claimed that the Salzburg Airport in Austria has a help desk for travellers who had accidentally flown to Austria instead of Australia. Our fact-check revealed that the Austrian airport did not have any such help desk.

Abira Das is an intern at Alt News.