Memorial Plaque in Honor of the First Vienna-Kyiv Airmail Connection

On March 31, 1918, regular international airmail transport began from the Vienna Aspern airfield on the route Vienna – Krakow – Lviv, with continuation through Proskuriv (now Khmelnytskyi) to Kyiv. The total length of the route was about 1,200 kilometers. This was one of the world's first regular international airmail lines, which became an important event in the history of aviation and postal communication.

The flights were operated by Austrian military pilots on Hansa-Brandenburg C.I aircraft. Initially, civilian mail was transported only between Vienna, Krakow, and Lviv, while the extension of the route to Kyiv was used for military and official correspondence. At the end of June 1918, the transportation of private mail items was also extended to Kyiv.

The official announcement of the opening of civilian airmail service between Vienna and Lviv was published on April 2, 1918, in Post- und Telegraphenverordnungsblatt No. 15. On the occasion of the launch of airmail, special postage stamps with the overprint “FLUGPOST” were issued, which later became collectibles among philatelists. These flights are considered the beginning of regular airmail in Austria. The service operated until October 1918, when it was discontinued at the end of World War I.

In memory of this event, a memorial plaque was installed on the grounds of the former Wien-Aspern airfield in Vienna's 22nd district. It is located near a commemorative stone dedicated to the history of the airfield, not far from the former access road. The commemorative stone itself was installed by the Austrian Aero Club in 1987, but the exact date of the separate plaque dedicated to the airmail connection remains unknown.

Today, this memorial reminds us of an important page in Austria's aviation history and the first regular airmail services that, over a hundred years ago, connected Vienna with Ukrainian cities.