Last updated: 7 October 2026. Clinic addresses were checked against the clinics’ own websites on that date, the airport’s assistance service against Vienna Airport’s own pages. Our prices are read from the same table the booking form uses, so they are current whenever you read this. The links are at the end of the article.
Short answer: Book the airport’s free assistance through your airline at least 48 hours before you fly; it brings you through passport control and baggage reclaim to the arrivals hall. Book your transfer with meet-and-greet, and your driver is standing in that hall with your name on a sign. To the hospitals in the 9th district it is from €44 per car, to the 18th and 19th from €48 — fixed, and paid after the ride. A folding wheelchair travels free. We have no car with a ramp or a lift.
Who This Guide Is For — and What We Are Not
This page is for patients who come to Vienna for an operation, a course of treatment or a second opinion, and for the people who travel with them or organise the trip from home. Vienna’s university hospital and its private clinics treat patients from many countries, and many of them arrive the same way: by air, at Vienna Airport, about 18 kilometres from the city centre.
When we sat down to write this, our owner put what patients should get from us into one sentence: handled gently, given the best comfort we can offer, and met with patience. The rest of this article is about what that means in practice — the specific things a driver does — because a promise you cannot check is worth very little when you are the one who has just come out of hospital.
What we are not. We are a private transfer service, not an ambulance and not a patient transport service. Our drivers are not medical staff and do not give medical help. We have no vehicle with a ramp or a lift. If you need any of that, we are the wrong choice — and it is better you read it here than find out at the kerb. In a medical emergency, call 144 for an ambulance, or the European emergency number 112.
Before You Fly: Three Things to Settle
1. Ask your clinic what it already arranges
Several Vienna clinics run their own service for patients from abroad; the Wiener Privatklinik and the Rudolfinerhaus describe theirs on their websites — help finding the right doctor, interpreters, questions about costs and insurance, in some cases accommodation and airport transport. Ask them first. We are the car, not the clinic.
Find out when and where you are expected: the time of admission, the entrance to use, the ward or department. That is exactly what your driver will need, and only the clinic has it.
If you need a Schengen visa, applications for treatment typically ask for a certificate from your doctor at home, a letter from the Austrian clinic confirming that it will treat you, and proof that you can pay for treatment and stay. The Austrian embassy or visa centre in your country has the binding list; apply at least 15 days before you travel.
2. Book the airport’s assistance through your airline
Vienna Airport runs an assistance service for passengers who cannot manage the distances, the stairs or the queues on their own — free of charge and around the clock. You book it not with the airport but with your airline or travel agent, at least 48 hours before departure. Say what you need: help over longer distances, on stairs as well, or all the way to your seat (airlines call these WCHR, WCHS and WCHC).
3. Fitness to fly is for your doctor and your airline
Whether you can fly — out to Vienna, and especially home again afterwards — is not something a transfer company can tell you, and we will not try. Ask your doctor. Ask your airline too. Austrian Airlines, for example, requires a fit-to-fly clearance from its medical service after major surgery and for anyone travelling for medical treatment, based on a form your doctor fills in; many airlines use a similar form, often called a MEDIF. Clarify it before you book either flight — not on the morning you are discharged.
The CDC, the US health authority, advises patients travelling for treatment to bring copies of their medical records and test results, their medicines in the original packaging and copies of their prescriptions. Keep them, with your passport and the clinic’s letter, in your hand luggage rather than in the suitcase.
Landing in Vienna: Where the Airport’s Help Ends and Ours Begins
Here is how the handover works. The airport’s assistance team meets you at the aircraft and takes you through passport control, baggage reclaim and customs. Vienna Airport describes the service as running between the aircraft and the arrivals hall — so the arrivals hall is where it ends, and where your driver should be.
With meet-and-greet booked (€8), he is. The driver parks in the short-stay car park and stands inside the arrivals hall, near the exit of baggage reclaim, with your name on a sign from the moment your plane lands. Without it, you message him once you are through and he comes into the hall to collect you — same hall, same driver, but you have to make the call. For a patient, and for whoever is pushing the wheelchair, the €8 is worth it; our help page recommends it for older passengers for the same reason.
We track your flight, so a delay moves the pickup without anyone having to call. After an international landing 60 minutes of waiting are included, counted from touchdown — 45 after a domestic flight. The airport’s own quality standards say that assistance booked in advance must reach arriving passengers within 20 minutes; unannounced, it may take up to 45 minutes, which alone uses up three quarters of that hour. Book the assistance in advance, and tell us in the notes field that it is bringing you out.
If passport control or a missing bag holds you up, call the number in your booking confirmation. And if anything goes wrong on the way out, the airport’s mobility service has counters in the arrivals hall and in Terminal 3.
The Ride Itself: What Patience Looks Like
For a driver, patience is not a slogan but a set of small decisions. These are the ones we already commit to on our help pages and in our terms:
- Nobody hurries you. Write in the notes field that you walk slowly, are in pain or simply need time. The driver reads the note before he sets off, allows more time and does not hurry anyone.
- Your luggage is carried for you. From the arrivals hall to the car is part of every transfer, with or without meet-and-greet. Older passengers are accompanied to the car and to the door at the other end, with their luggage carried the whole way.
- The car is yours alone. Every ATAV transfer is private: nobody else is picked up on the way.
- A stop on the way is possible — the pharmacy on the way back from the clinic, for example. It is arranged by request rather than through the booking form, and we confirm the price in writing before you travel.
- You pay after the ride, not before. Cash or card, in the car at the end of the journey, in euros; card payments carry a €4 fee. No advance payment is required.
- The price does not change on the way. It is fixed when you book, and it is per car, not per person — a companion in one of the car’s seats costs nothing extra.
What we do not promise is a particular car model — our terms say so for passengers with reduced mobility. Tell us in the notes what you need, and we allocate the vehicle.
Our drivers speak English and German, many also other languages: enough for the ride, not for anything medical. If you need an interpreter for your treatment, ask your clinic.
Fixed Prices to Vienna’s Hospitals and Private Clinics
Our fares do not depend on the length of the drive but on the postcode: 1010 to 1110 are charged at the inner rate, 1120 to 1230 at the outer one. The hospitals in this guide sit in three districts: the 9th (Alsergrund) on the inner side, the 18th (Währing) and the 19th (Döbling) on the outer side.
| Hospital | Address | District | Economy, per car |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKH Wien (Vienna General Hospital) | Währinger Gürtel 18–20, 1090 | 9th — Alsergrund | €44 |
| Confraternität & Goldenes Kreuz | Lazarettgasse 16–18, 1090 | 9th — Alsergrund | €44 |
| Wiener Privatklinik | Pelikangasse 15, 1090 | 9th — Alsergrund | €44 |
| Evangelisches Krankenhaus | Hans-Sachs-Gasse 10–12, 1180 | 18th — Währing | €48 |
| Privatklinik Döbling | Heiligenstädter Straße 55–65, 1190 | 19th — Döbling | €48 |
| Rudolfinerhaus | Billrothstraße 78, 1190 | 19th — Döbling | €48 |
The Confraternität private clinic has moved its patients to Lazarettgasse 16–18, the Goldenes Kreuz building, until its new building in Skodagasse is finished — at the end of 2028, according to the clinic. Older listings may still show the old address. The table is a list of addresses, not a recommendation; which hospital is right for you is a question for your doctors.
Every class, both zones
| Class | Vehicle | Seats | Cases | 9th district | 18th and 19th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economy | Mercedes B-Class | 1–2 | 2 | €44 | €48 |
| Comfort | Mercedes C-Class Wagon | 1–4 | 3 | €48 | €52 |
| Business | Mercedes E-Class Wagon | 1–4 | 4 | €58 | €58 |
| Minivan | Mercedes Vito Tourer | 1–8 | 8 | €78 | €78 |
| First Class | Mercedes S-Class | 1–3 | 3 | €88 | €88 |
Per car, not per person. Only the 2 cheapest classes change between the two zones; the other 3 cost the same to every hospital in the table. A night surcharge of €4 applies between 19:00 and 07:00, meet-and-greet is €8, paying by card adds €4. Waiting within the included time, luggage and a folding wheelchair cost nothing extra.
Choose the class for the number of people travelling, or a larger one if you would like more room: the E-Class Wagon (Business) costs from €58 to the hospitals in the table. A folding wheelchair, a walking frame or the luggage of a long stay goes in the notes field — we allocate a car with enough boot space.
Wheelchairs: What Works and What Does Not
This is the section we would most like you to read before booking.
- What works: a folding wheelchair, a walking frame, crutches — at no charge. The driver stows the chair in the boot and gives you a hand into the seat. The move from the chair into the car seat has to work on your own or with the help of the people travelling with you — that is what our terms ask.
- What does not work: staying seated in the wheelchair for the journey, or travelling with a powered wheelchair. We have no vehicle with a ramp or a lift. Please do not book with us for that.
Vienna’s tourist board lists several minibus operators for wheelchair users on its page about accessible arrival — the link is in the sources below. Not all of them can take a passenger seated in the chair or a powered wheelchair, so ask each one directly. Your clinic’s patient service is worth asking too.
If you are not sure which side of the line you are on — a chair that folds but is heavy, a passenger who can stand for a moment but not walk — call or message us. Our terms ask every passenger with reduced mobility to contact us before booking anyway — a short message with the chair and the route is enough.
What to Write in the Notes Field
The notes field in the booking form is the one thing your driver reads before he leaves. These are the details that help:
- The passenger’s name, if you are booking for someone else — with meet-and-greet, that is the name on the sign.
- The passenger’s mobile number, with country code — ideally in the phone field of the form, because that is the number the driver calls at pickup.
- That you are coming for treatment and need more time, walk slowly or are in pain.
- A folding wheelchair, walking frame or crutches, and roughly how much luggage — a long stay means more cases.
- That the airport’s assistance service is bringing you out.
- The full address of the clinic, the entrance you were told to use, and the ward or department if you know it.
- A stop you would like on the way — we confirm it and its price before the day.
- A request for an invoice in a particular name, with the billing address.
What you do not need to write is your diagnosis. The driver does not need to know why you are in Vienna to look after you properly — only what makes the ride easier. Your driver sees what he needs for the ride — route, name, phone number, flight and your note — and nothing about your health unless you write it there.
Booking for a Parent, a Partner or a Child
Often the person who books is not the person who flies. A daughter books from abroad for her father; a husband arranges the journey home while his wife is still on the ward. Both work well.
Book in your own name and write the traveller’s name in the notes field. The email comes to you: open it and confirm the booking through its link — until you do, no driver is assigned. From then on you stay in control of any change, and the pickup follows the flight number: if the flight is delayed while your relative is in the air, nobody has to do anything. Give your relative the booking number from the email and our number, +436767704159 — we answer around the clock, by phone and on WhatsApp. The fare is paid in the car, so nothing has to be paid in advance from abroad.
If the patient is a child, child seats are available at €10 each, fitted before the car leaves — our guide to travelling with children covers them. For everything else about booking on someone’s behalf, see booking a transfer for someone else.
During Treatment: Check-ups, Hotel and Clinic
Treatment is rarely a single journey. There are appointments before admission, check-ups after discharge, and a companion travelling between hotel and ward. The return to the airport can be booked together with your arrival, also at a fixed price — it follows the postcode you are collected from.
For several appointments on one day, a driver by the hour is often simpler than separate rides: €89 an hour, or €800 for a day of up to 8 hours, with one of our cars. Your things stay in the car while you are inside. It is arranged on request through our contact page, not through the booking form.
Going Home: When the Discharge Date Moves
Discharge is the one appointment nobody can promise in advance. Austria’s health ministry advises patients to ask for their discharge date so that the pickup from hospital can be planned, and says the discharge talk takes place the day before at the latest.
One limit you should know: when we collect you from a clinic or a hotel, there is no flight to track, and the included waiting time is up to 15 minutes. So book the car for the time you will be ready, not the time you hope to be. If it moves, tell us by phone or WhatsApp as soon as you know. The change itself is free; it counts once we have confirmed it to you by email. Cancellation is free of charge up to 24 hours before pickup; closer to the time, please call rather than email.
If you cannot say when you will be ready, a driver by the hour is the alternative: the car waits at the clinic for as long as it takes, and you pay for the time — €89 an hour, arranged through our contact page.
Everything from the way in applies on the way out — the folding wheelchair, the pharmacy stop, the companion’s luggage: write it in the notes field. At the airport there are marked spaces close to the terminal for getting in and out of a car, free of charge, on the same level as the departures hall. The assistance you booked through your airline starts at the mobility counter or the check-in counter; even when booked, it may take up to 30 minutes to reach you there, so allow for it when you choose the pickup time. Whether you are fit to fly home is, again, for your doctor and your airline to decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a transfer from Vienna Airport to the AKH or a private clinic?
From €44 per car to the hospitals in the 9th district — the AKH, the Wiener Privatklinik and the Confraternität & Goldenes Kreuz building — and from €48 to the 18th and 19th, where the Evangelisches Krankenhaus, the Privatklinik Döbling and the Rudolfinerhaus are. The price is fixed when you book and paid in the car after the ride; between 19:00 and 07:00 a night surcharge of €4 applies.
Will the driver help me from the arrivals hall to the car?
Yes. Carrying your luggage from the arrivals hall to the car is part of every transfer, and older passengers are accompanied to the door at the other end. Write in the notes field that you need more time, and the driver plans for it. He is a driver, not a carer, and gives no medical help.
Can you take a wheelchair?
A folding wheelchair, yes, free of charge: the driver stows it in the boot and gives you a hand into the seat. Tell us before you book — a short message, or at least a line in the notes field — so we send a car with enough boot space. We have no car with a ramp or a lift.
I cannot leave my wheelchair, or I use a powered wheelchair. Who can drive me?
Not us — please do not book with us for that, so nobody is left waiting at the kerb. You need a specialist service with a ramp or a lift. Vienna’s tourist board lists several minibus operators for wheelchair users; not all of them can take a passenger seated in the chair or a powered wheelchair, so ask each one directly. Your clinic’s patient service is worth asking too.
How do I get wheelchair assistance at Vienna Airport?
Through your airline or travel agent, at least 48 hours before departure — not through the airport directly. The service is free, runs around the clock and brings you from the aircraft to the arrivals hall. With meet-and-greet booked, your driver is already waiting there with your name on a sign. Unannounced, assistance can take up to 45 minutes to reach you.
Is ATAV an ambulance or a patient transport service?
No. We are a private transfer service. Our drivers are not medical staff, and we cannot transport anyone lying down or seated in a wheelchair. In a medical emergency, call 144 for an ambulance, or the European emergency number 112.
Can I book the transfer for my mother, who is coming for treatment?
Yes. Book in your own name, write her name in the notes field and her mobile number in the phone field — with meet-and-greet, her name goes on the sign in the arrivals hall. The email comes to you: confirm the booking through its link, because until then no driver is assigned. The pickup follows her flight number, and the fare is paid in the car, so nothing has to be paid in advance.
My discharge date may change. What happens to my booking?
Tell us as soon as you know, by phone or WhatsApp, around the clock. The change itself is free — it counts once we have confirmed it to you by email — and cancellation is free of charge up to 24 hours before pickup. At a clinic or hotel the included waiting time is up to 15 minutes, so book the time you will actually be ready.
Sources
Everything above that is not our own service or price list comes from these pages, checked on 7 October 2026.
- Vienna Airport — assistance for passengers with reduced mobility
- Vienna Airport — quality standards and waiting times for assistance
- Vienna Airport — accessible facilities and mobility counters
- wien.info — accessible arrival in Vienna, including specialist minibus services for wheelchair users
- Austrian Airlines — travelling with a medical condition and medical clearance
- Austrian Ministry of Health — patient information on hospital admission and discharge (German, PDF)
- CDC — preparing for travel for medical treatment
- VFS Global / Austrian Embassy Abuja — example checklist for a Schengen visa for medical treatment (PDF)
- AKH Wien · Wiener Privatklinik · Rudolfinerhaus · Privatklinik Döbling · Confraternität & Goldenes Kreuz · Evangelisches Krankenhaus — addresses and services for international patients