False claim that Salzburg confusion led to special counter at Austrian airport | Fact check

Nate Trela, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: An airport in Austria has a counter for people who meant to fly to Australia

An Oct. 25 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shares a meme that includes a picture taken from inside an airplane.

“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,” reads the meme text.

The post was liked more than 1,000 times in six days. Posts making similar claims, some with different images, appear on multiple platforms.

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Our rating: False

The supposed kiosk was actually an advertisement in the Salzburg, Austria, airport for an intercom company that was taken down more than a year ago.

Old ad lives on in meme

In a German-language Facebook post, the Salzburg Airport said there has never been a counter for travelers who mistakenly came to Austria when meaning to go to Australia.

Versions of the claim go back at least to 2021, when an advertisement for Commend Intercom Systems and Solutions was highlighted on 9GAG, a website that shares memes.

“Sorry, this is Austria not Australia! Need help? Please press the button,” read the sign. It included a picture of an SOS button manufactured by Commend.

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The billboard, which is shared in other versions of the claim circulating on social media, sat above a luggage carousel at the Austrian airport. It was installed in 2009, updated in 2018 to show an updated design of the SOS button and taken down in 2022 when remodeling at the airport replaced billboard-style ad displays with digital displays, according to Wolfgang Peer, a spokesperson for Commend. It included Commend’s name and URL in smaller print.

The sign played off frequent confusion caused by the similar names of the countries.

“An Austrian very often answers in English to the question where he comes from with "'From Austria, but there are no kangaroos in Austria,’” Peer said in an email.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The Associated Press and Lead Stories also debunked versions of the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No counter in Austrian airport to get people to Australia | Fact check