Stuttgart Airport (German: ''Flughafen Stuttgart'', formerly ''Flughafen Stuttgart-Echterdingen'') is the
international airport of
Stuttgart, the capital of the
German state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
. It is christened in honor of Stuttgart's former mayor,
Manfred Rommel, son of
Erwin Rommel, and is the sixth busiest airport in Germany with 11,832,634 passengers having passed through its doors in 2018.
The airport is operated by Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH (FSG). It goes back to Luftverkehr Württemberg AG, which was founded in 1924 and initially operated
Böblingen Airport. Since 2008, 65% of the operating company is owned by the state of Baden-Württemberg and 35% by the city of Stuttgart. It is located approximately ( in a straight line) south
of Stuttgart and lies on the boundary between the nearby town of
Leinfelden-Echterdingen,
Filderstadt and Stuttgart itself. In 2007, the
Stuttgart Trade Fair – the ninth biggest
exhibition centre
A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
in Germany – moved to grounds directly next to the airport. Additionally, the global headquarters for
car park
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...
ing company
APCOA Parking are located here.
History
First years and World War II
The airport was built in 1939 to replace
Böblingen Airport. In 1945, the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
took over the airport until returning it to German authorities in 1948.
For the duration of the Cold War the runway and facilities were shared with the United States Army who operated helicopters, the
Grumman OV-1 Mohawk and other fixed wing aircraft as ''Echterdingen Army Airfield'' on the southern portion of the airfield. Some of the units operating at Echterdingen were headquartered at nearby
Nellingen Kaserne Nellingen Kaserne was a U.S. Army airfield and barracks near Stuttgart in the town of Ostfildern in Germany.
History
The site was selected in the 1930s as the site for a new airport for Stuttgart but was instead developed as a military airfield nam ...
- now closed and redeveloped. In 1984–5, the 223rd Aviation Battalion (Combat) of the
11th Aviation Group (Combat) was headquartered at Echterdingen, with three aviation companies assigned (one at
Schwäbisch Hall). The U.S. Army still maintains a small helicopter base - ''Stuttgart Army Airfield'' - on the southern side of the airport, which it shares with the
Baden-Württemberg State Police helicopter wing. The police helicopter wing falls under the control of Stuttgart Police Department and has six modern helicopters based at Stuttgart and two in
Söllingen
Söllingen is a municipality in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The Municipality Söllingen includes the villages of Dobbeln, Söllingen and Wobeck. And since 1 November 2016, the former municipalities Ingeleben and Twiefli ...
.
Later development
The airport was expanded after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The runway was extended to in 1948, then to in 1961 and finally to in 1996. Renovation was scheduled for 2020, full closure phase was preponed to be completed in April during the
corona lockdown
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...
.
The original 1938 terminal was finally replaced in 2004 and there are now four terminals with a maximum capacity of approximately 12 million passengers.
Politicians, town planners and nearby residents have been arguing for years about the construction of a second runway. However, on 25 June 2008 Minister-President
Günther Oettinger
Günther Hermann Oettinger (born 15 October 1953) is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources from 2017 to 2019, as European Commissioner for Digit ...
announced that for the next 8–12 years no second runway will be built and that the restrictions for night operations stay in place.
After the death of former mayor
Manfred Rommel in November 2013 local politicians proposed renaming the airport after him. This proposal caused public disputes as he was the son of
Erwin Rommel but also highly respected for his work on intercultural affairs. In July 2014 it has been announced that the airport will be named ''Flughafen Stuttgart - Manfred Rommel Flughafen'' from now on. In September 2016, the airport unveiled new branding and corporate design, changing its official name from ''Flughafen Stuttgart'' to ''Stuttgart Airport''.
In September 2014,
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. cancelled their route to Stuttgart from
Newark due to insufficient demand leaving Stuttgart Airport with only one remaining long-haul connection to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
provided by
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...
.
In October 2014,
easyJet
EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...
announced they would serve Stuttgart as their seventh German destination by March 2015.
In December 2014,
Ryanair also added Stuttgart as a destination in their network with six weekly flights to
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
from April 2015.
Air Berlin
Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG (), branded as airberlin or airberlin.com was a major German airline. At its peak, it was Germany's second-largest airline, as well as Europe's tenth-largest airline in terms of passengers carried. It was h ...
announced the start of a service to
Abu Dhabi from December 2014.
On 31 May 2016,
Air Berlin
Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG (), branded as airberlin or airberlin.com was a major German airline. At its peak, it was Germany's second-largest airline, as well as Europe's tenth-largest airline in terms of passengers carried. It was h ...
ceased its flights to
Abu Dhabi.
[airberlingroup.com - airberlin withdraws from Stuttgart - Abu Dhabi route](_blank)
18 March 2016 In October 2016,
Air Berlin
Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG (), branded as airberlin or airberlin.com was a major German airline. At its peak, it was Germany's second-largest airline, as well as Europe's tenth-largest airline in terms of passengers carried. It was h ...
announced it would close its maintenance facilities at the airport due to cost cutting and restructuring measures.
[rbb-online.de - "Air Berlin wants to cancel nearly 500 staff nationwide"](_blank)
(German) 14 October 2016
In July 2020,
Lauda announced the closure of their base at Stuttgart Airport — which has been operated as a
wetlease for
Ryanair — by October 2020. Prior to this announcement, the base staff rejected a new labour agreement. In October 2021,
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...
terminated their service to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
after being suspended since 2020 and nearly 35 years of service, leaving the airport without any scheduled long-haul operations. However this route is planned to resume in March 2023 after a three-year hiatus.
Terminals
Stuttgart Airport consists of four passenger terminals which have separate check-in facilities and entrances but are directly connected to each other and share a single airside area which features eight
Jet bridge
A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, ...
s as well as about two dozen bus-boarding stands.
* Terminal 1 is the first of two landside main halls and features together with its addition Terminal 1-West 50 check-in counters. It shares the roof with Terminals 2 and 3 and is mainly used by
Eurowings
Eurowings GmbH is a German low-cost carrier headquartered in Düsseldorf and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. Founded in 1996, it serves a network of domestic and European destinations and formerly also operated some long-hau ...
and Turkish Airlines.
* Terminal 2 is a small area featuring nine check-in counters and a security checkpoint. It is located within the shopping area between the main halls of Terminals 1 and 3. It is used by
Lufthansa &
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance. Founded on 14 May 1997, its CEO is Jeffrey Goh and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. , Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenge ...
partners in addition to their counters in Terminal 1.
* Terminal 3 is the second of the two landside main halls east of Terminal 1 and 2 and features 39 additional check-in counters. It is used by
TUIfly
TUI fly Deutschland, formerly ''TUIfly'', is a German leisure airline owned by the travel and tourism company TUI Group. It is headquartered at Hannover Airport with bases at several other German airports. TUI fly Deutschland is part of TUI Gr ...
and
KLM among several other airlines.
* Terminal 4 is, unlike the other three terminals, a separate and very basic equipped building to the east of Terminals 1 to 3 but also connected to them by a walk way. It features 17 more check-in counters as well as several bus-boarding gates and is used mostly for holiday charter operations. In March 2018, the airport administration announced that Terminal 4 will be entirely rebuilt and expanded in the coming years.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Stuttgart Airport:
Cargo
Statistics
Passengers and movements
Largest airlines
Busiest routes
Ground transportation
Car
There are two major highways: Just north of the airport runs the
Bundesautobahn 8 (A8), which connects the cities of Karlsruhe and Stuttgart to Ulm, Augsburg and Munich. The
Bundesstraße 27
Bundesstraße 27 or B27 is a German federal road. It connects Blankenburg am Harz with Rafz in Switzerland.
Route
The Bundesstraße 27 crosses the following states and towns (north to south):
* Saxony-Anhalt: Blankenburg am Harz
* Lower ...
(B27) leads to downtown Stuttgart, as well as to Tübingen and Reutlingen in the South.
Coach
From the regional cities of
Esslingen am Neckar
Esslingen am Neckar (Swabian: ''Esslenga am Neckor'') is a town in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, seat of the District of Esslingen as well as the largest town in the district. Within Baden-Württemberg it is th ...
,
Reutlingen
Reutlingen (; Swabian: ''Reitlenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it has a population of 115,818.
Reutlingen has a university of applied sciences, which ...
,
Tübingen
Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...
and
Kirchheim exists a connection by coach. Additionally, German long-distance coach operators ''DeinBus'' and
Flixbus maintain their stop for Stuttgart on the airport grounds with direct connections to several major cities.
Suburban railway
Stuttgart Airport can be easily reached within 30 minutes from the city's
main railway station
Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...
using the
Stuttgart suburban railway S2 or S3 from
Stuttgart Flughafen/Messe station.
Future long-distance railway
It is planned to connect the airport with the future
Stuttgart - Ulm high-speed railway line currently under construction as part of the major
Stuttgart 21 railway redevelopment program. Therefore, a new long-distance train station will be built on the airport's grounds near the existing suburban railway station. The new station, which will be served by
''ICE'' high-speed trains will be connected to the new line by an underground loop track. The Stuttgart-Ulm line is scheduled to be opened in 2020 while the new airport connection is planned to be inaugurated in 2022.
stuttgarter-nachrichten.de - "Airport station finished by 2022"
1 August 2012
Accidents and incidents
* On 19 January 2010, Bin Air
BinAir Aero Service Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, GmbH is a Germany, German charter airline headquartered in Munich and based out of Essen/Mülheim Airport specializing in ad hoc freight services across Europe.
History
The airline wa ...
Swearingen SA-227-C Metro D-CKPP was damaged when the right main undercarriage collapsed on landing.
See also
* Transport in Germany
* List of airports in Germany
This is a list of airports in Germany, sorted by location.
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central and Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by ...
References
External links
Official website
*
*
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Stuttgart
Transport in Stuttgart
Gerkan, Marg and Partners buildings
Airports in Baden-Württemberg