Stuttgart Airport (German:Flughafen Stuttgart) formerlyFlughafen Stuttgart-Echterdingen (IATA:STR,ICAO:EDDS) is aninternational airport servingStuttgart, the capital of theGermanstate ofBaden-Württemberg. It is christened in honor of Stuttgart's former mayor,Manfred Rommel, son ofErwin Rommel,[4] and is the sixth busiest airport in Germany with 11,832,634 passengers having passed through its doors in 2018. The facility covers approximately 400hectares (1,000acres), of which 190 hectares are green space.[5]
The airport is operated by Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH (FSG). It goes back to Luftverkehr Württemberg AG, which was founded in 1924 and initially operatedBöblingen 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 13 km (8.1 mi) (10 km (6.2 mi) in a straight line) south[3] of Stuttgart and lies on the boundary between the nearby town ofLeinfelden-Echterdingen,Filderstadt and Stuttgart itself. In 2007, theMesse Stuttgart convention center – the ninth biggestexhibition centre in Germany – moved to grounds directly next to the airport. Additionally, the global headquarters forcar parking companyAPCOA Parking are located here.
For the duration of the Cold War the runway and facilities were shared with the United States Army who operated helicopters, theGrumman OV-1 Mohawk and other fixed wing aircraft asEchterdingen Army Airfield on the southern portion of the airfield.[6][7] Some of the units operating at Echterdingen were headquartered at nearbyNellingen Kaserne- now closed and redeveloped.[8] In 1984–5, the 223rd Aviation Battalion (Combat) of the11th Aviation Group (Combat) was headquartered at Echterdingen, with three aviation companies assigned (one atSchwäbisch Hall).[9] The U.S. Army still maintains a small helicopter base -Stuttgart Army Airfield - on the southern side of the airport, which it shares with theBaden-Württemberg 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 inSöllingen.[citation needed]
The airport was expanded afterWorld War II. The runway was extended to 1,800 m (5,906 ft) in 1948, then to 2,250 m (7,382 ft) in 1961 and finally to 3,345 m (10,974 ft) in 1996. Renovation was scheduled for 2020, full closure phase was preponed to be completed in April during thecorona lockdown.[10]
The original 1938 terminal was finally replaced in 2004 and there are now four terminals with a maximum capacity of approximately 12 million passengers.[citation needed]
Politicians, town planners and nearby residents have been arguing for years about the construction of a second runway. However, on 25 June 2008, Minister-PresidentGünther Oettinger announced that for the next 8–12 years no second runway will be built and that the restrictions for night operations stay in place.[11][12]
After the death of former mayorManfred Rommel in November 2013 local politicians proposed renaming the airport after him.[13] This proposal caused public disputes as he was the son ofErwin Rommel but also highly respected for his work on intercultural affairs.[14] In July 2014, it has been announced that the airport will be namedFlughafen Stuttgart - Manfred Rommel Flughafen from now on.[15] In September 2016, the airport unveiled new branding and corporate design, changing its official name fromFlughafen Stuttgart toStuttgart Airport.[16]
In October 2014,easyJet announced they would serve Stuttgart as their seventh German destination by March 2015.[18] In December 2014,Ryanair also added Stuttgart as a destination in their network with six weekly flights toManchester from April 2015.[19]
Air Berlin announced the start of a service toAbu Dhabi from December 2014.[20] On 31 May 2016, Air Berlin ceased its flights toAbu Dhabi.[21] In October 2016, Air Berlin announced it would close its maintenance facilities at the airport due to cost cutting and restructuring measures.[22]
In July 2020,Lauda announced the closure of their base at Stuttgart Airport – which has been operated as awetlease forRyanair — by October 2020. Prior to this announcement, the base staff rejected a new labour agreement.[23]
In August 2024,Delta Air Lines announced the end of their flights to Stuttgart fromAtlanta after already having reduced their service to a seasonal one in March 2023. This marked the end of the connection after 36 years (with a three-year hiatus from 2020 to 2023 due to COVID-19) and will deprive the airport of any scheduled long-haul destinations.[24][25]
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 eightjet bridges as well as about two dozen bus-boarding stands.[26]
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 byEurowings 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 byLufthansa &Star Alliance 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 byTUIfly andKLM 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.[27]
There are two major highways: Just north of the airport runs theBundesautobahn 8 (A8), which connects the cities of Karlsruhe and Stuttgart to Ulm, Augsburg and Munich. TheBundesstraße 27 (B27) leads to downtown Stuttgart, as well as to Tübingen and Reutlingen in the South.
From the regional cities ofEsslingen am Neckar,Reutlingen,Tübingen andKirchheim exists a connection by coach. Additionally, German long-distance coach operatorsDeinBus andFlixbus maintain their stop for Stuttgart on the airport grounds with direct connections to several major cities.
It is planned to connect the airport with the futureStuttgart - Ulm high-speed railway line currently under construction as part of the majorStuttgart 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 byICE 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. As of 2019, the airport connection is planned to commence operation in late 2025,[136] versus an initial estimate of 2019 (made in 2010).
^"ADV Monthly Traffic Report 12/2022"(PDF; 919 KB).adv.aero (in German). Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Verkehrsflughäfen e.V. 13 February 2023. Retrieved17 February 2023.
^ab"AIP VFR online".dfs.de. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH. Retrieved21 February 2023.
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8,141,020
7,642,409
Eurowings
SunExpress
KLM
Aegan Airlines
British Airways
Berlin,Brandenburg Airport
Hamburg,Hamburg Airport
Hesse,Frankfurt Airport
Bavaria,Munich Airport
Spain,Palma de Mallorca Airport
Austria,Vienna International Airport
Switzerland,Zurich Airport
France, ParisParis–Charles de Gaulle Airport
Media related toStuttgart Airport at Wikimedia Commons
