Austrian Regions Give Green Light To Summer Lift Operations, Set New Rules
Although the Austrian federal government had long fixed the deadline for the start of the new season, until recently the summer lift operators still had no official paper on how to comply with the safety regulations in the wake of the Corona crisis.
In Stiermark Fabrice Girardoni, chairman of the Styrian cable cars, was somewhat annoyed about it, “because I was also unable to pass on any directives to my industry colleagues. Now the official paper with the Covid relaxation regulations for the comfortable ascent aids is available, which clearly defines that the railways, cable cars and chair lifts are equated with mass transportation. ”
Queues are treated as public transport And in "Public Transport", people who do not live in the same household must be kept at a distance of at least one meter and a mechanical protective device covering the mouth and nose area must be worn. If the distance of at least one meter is not possible due to the number of passengers and when boarding and alighting, an exception can be made.
Girardoni is relieved because the exception passage allows you to operate on the mountains even with full gondolas, which makes economic operation in a hull season reasonably possible. The numbers justify his hopes: after all, in 2018 - the statistics for 2019 were not yet available at the time of printing - 1.1 million guests frequented the white-green lifts. The hit list was led by the lifts on the Planai, on the Dachstein and on the Schöckl.
Whether cable cars or chair lifts, all are prepared for the summer, reports Girardoni: “We used the mandatory break to carry out maintenance work and prepare ourselves perfectly for the restart. Nevertheless, we are not an industry in which you can easily flip a switch. After all, employees have to be trained and our range of offers or what the guests can expect from us on the mountain are communicated to the customers. We look forward to a summer on the mountain.
In Vorarlberg Hannes Jochum, chairman of the Vorarlberg cable car group said“In the past few weeks, we have made all the preparations to ensure that summer is safe. The mountain railways are optimally equipped with instructions for action developed by the association. The checklists contained therein help the cable car companies to create a safe environment for their guests and employees as simply and easily as possible, ”
Mouth and nose protection also mandatory in cable car cabins. In this sense, a minimum distance of one meter from people who do not live in the same household will also apply to cable cars in the future. Mouth and nose protection must also be worn while driving. Signs in the checkout and boarding area should also remind guests of the prescribed hygiene and behavioral rules. In addition, signs provide information about the permissible seating or standing arrangement in the respective mountain railway. Basically, the regulation equates mountain railways with mass transport. If it is not otherwise possible, the minimum distance may also be fallen below in some cases.
