Do Austrian Airports Really Have Counters For Passengers Who Were Meant To Fly To Australia?

Summary

• The myth of Salzburg Airport having an SOS button for passengers who mistakenly flew to Austria instead of Australia originated from a 2009 billboard by Commend Intercom Systems.
• Despite the billboard’s removal in 2022, the myth persisted, leading to numerous social media posts and views across the internet.
• The Salzburg Airport and Commend confirmed that the SOS button was fictional, and there are no instances of travelers confusing the destinations in such a way.

Australia, a massive island continent in the Indian Ocean, is nearly 9,000 miles from landlocked Austria in Europe. However, internet posts in the past year have led many to believe that airline passengers frequently confuse the two countries when planning travel.

The myth, which claims that Salzburg Airport has an SOS button for passengers who mistakenly flew to Austria instead of Australia, originated from a 2009 billboard by Commend Intercom Systems. The billboard gained global attention after being shared on social media in 2021.

Despite the billboard’s removal in 2022, the myth persisted, amusing many and leading to numerous social media posts and views across the internet.

The humorous mix-up plays on the frequent confusion between Austria and Australia, a common joke among travelers and locals. However, the Salzburg Airport and Commend confirmed that the SOS button was fictional. Although there are instances of travelers confusing destinations, the myth involving the Salzburg Airport help button is simply not true.

How the myth began

This intriguing and humorous idea originated in 2009 when Commend Intercom Systems and Solutions installed a billboard at Salzburg Airport (SZG). The Austrian-based company, which produces intercoms, placed its advertisement above the airport’s luggage carousel in hopes of attracting passengers’ attention while waiting for their baggage. Instead, they attracted the attention of the world.

The billboard, which was updated in 2018, featured a picture of an SOS button against a blue background. Above the company’s name and URL, the advertisement displayed an eye-catching phrase:

“Sorry, this is Austria not Australia! Need help? Please press the button.”

Beneath this quote, a smaller text read: “Commend provides Security and Communication. From Salzburg to the rest of the world. Even for the most unlikely of situations.”

The sign was meant to advertise Commend’s intercoms, which are not exactly exciting products for most travelers. However, some passengers quickly noticed the interesting quote and paid extra attention to the sign. An image of the advertisement was first shared on the meme website 9GAG in 2021, per The Local.

Wolfgang Peer, a Commend spokesperson, explained the billboard’s rationale. He explained that the sign stemmed from the frequent confusion caused by the similarity of Australia and Austria’s names in English. According to USA Today, Peer said that Austrians often must clarify their country of origin with English speakers, saying:

“[I’m] from Austria, but there are no kangaroos in Austria.”

Resurfacing and spreading anew

Although the advertisement was taken down in 2022 after the airport replaced its billboard-style advertisements with digital displays, the myth has continued to spread. In October 2023, social media users shared posts featuring Commend’s advertisement across multiple platforms. While the posts’ background image or style varied, the message was very similar. Per the Washington Post, most users wrote:

“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.”

Social media users across the globe were amused by the idea of passengers expecting to see the beaches of Sydney only to realize they were landing in landlocked Austria. One TikTok sharing the myth received 4.9 million views in just over two weeks.

Despite the somewhat ludicrous nature of such a claim, people seemed to believe it completely. Some users responded to the posts, asking serious follow-up questions. Many wanted to know what the SOS button did and if anyone could share a first-person account of using it.

Other users shared stories confirming the frequent confusion between Australia and Austria, lending credibility to the myth. Some shared personal anecdotes of disclosing their nationality to others. According to AP News, many Austrians said this information was frequently greeted with questions about kangaroos or the weather in Australia.

Outside of social media and travel, Australia and Austria have been mixed up on several occasions. So often, in fact, that visitors to Austria are likely to see souvenirs featuring the aforementioned phrase, “[there are] No kangaroos in Austria.”

In 2016, CNN joined the ranks of those confused by the country’s similarly spelled names. Per Yahoo News, CNN shared an on-screen banner declaring that Australia was “building fence at Slovenian border.” The major news network was mocked across the media for the mix-up, but it didn’t prevent others from making the same mistake.

In 2022, the popular rock band KISS played in Austria’s capital, Vienna. In a tribute to the audience, the band displayed their logo and a flag on the mega screen. As stated by NME, the colors shown were those of the Australian flag, not Austria’s.

After the resurgence of the Commend billboard’s internet circulation in 2023, the Salzburg Airport received hundreds of requests for clarification. On its Facebook page in the weeks following the posts, the airport said it had messages from individuals as far away as Washington and Sydney. Everyone wanted to know the same thing: Is there really a help button for people who go to Austria instead of Australia?

So, it’s not true…right?

The Salzburg Airport confirmed that, although the billboard was real, the SOS button was a fabrication. Commend spokesperson Peer complimented the “ingenious” advertisement’s designers and commented on the message’s “witty” nature.

Susanne Buchebner, the deputy head of public relations for Salzburg Airport remarked that she had never heard of anyone mistakenly traveling to Salzburg instead of Australia. According to her comment on News.com.au, Australia’s leading news site:

“There is definitely no help desk in Salzburg for these passengers, since this simply never happens.”

When examining some of the internet’s claims surrounding the myth of confused travelers, the unlikeliness of its truth becomes more apparent. One viral post of the billboard shared on X, formerly Twitter, claimed that Salzburg Airport has a counter for the “more than 100 passengers a year” who find themselves in Europe rather than Down Under.

For this figure to be accurate, the mistake would need to occur once every three days. This simply is not the case.

Do people actually board the wrong flight?

Although the Australia–Austria mix-up does not seem to affect travelers the way social media would have us believe, there are many accounts of passengers confusing other cities. Some claimed they didn’t even realize their error until they arrived in confusion at the plane’s destination.

One social media user commented on last year’s viral X post, sharing an entertaining story that occurred 15 years ago. According to the anecdotal comment, nearly 50% of passengers intending to fly from East Midlands Airport (EMA) to Parma, Italy (PMF) accidentally boarded a flight to Palma (PMI) in the Spanish Balearic Islands.

Other well-documented cases in 2002 and 2010 involved passengers who flew to Sydney, Nova Scotia (YQY) instead of the Australian city, per CBC. In 2022, a traveler from New York found himself en route to Sidney, Montana. Seeing the snowy airport at the flight’s first stop in Billings (BIL) clarified his confusion over the aircraft’s small size and the short flight duration.

These types of mistakes are not limited to individuals. According to ESPN, a group of French soccer (football) fans flew to Bucharest (OTP) to cheer their team in a Euro 2020 tournament match in 2021. However, as the French team was playing against Hungary, the match was actually held in Budapest, nearly 500 miles away.

The six French men spent hours at bars in Bucharest’s city center, celebrating before the match. They didn’t realize their mistake until it was too late to make it to Budapest in time.

Although it’s easy to laugh at these stories, there is no denying that destinations with similar names can confuse travelers, whether in the sky or on the ground. These are just a handful of other commonly confused place names:

• Saint Petersburg (Russia & Florida)
• Memphis (Egypt & Tennessee)
• Birmingham (UK & Alabama)
• San José (Costa Rica & California)

Read here to learn about airplanes flying to the wrong airports.

While these examples may help explain the surprisingly abundant occurrence of misguided travelers, the myth about the Salzburg Airport SOS button remains busted. Nevertheless, this engaging rumor can serve to remind all travelers to double (and then triple) check before purchasing airline tickets or boarding a flight.