The direct connection between Stuttgart and Atlanta in the US state of Georgia was once the pride of the Stuttgart airport operator. It should be back next spring – after a forced three-year break.
The US airline Delta Air Lines is now moving back to Stuttgart Airport: In the summer flight schedule phase of 2023, it not only wants to continue its previous flight schedule in Berlin and Düsseldorf, but also in Stuttgart. According to its own statements, it wants to offer more non-stop connections for customers between Germany and the United States. From March 27, the airline announced that there will be four flights a week from Stuttgart to Atlanta, and from May there will also be three flights a week from Düsseldorf and a daily flight from Berlin to New York to John F. Kennedy Airport. Through Delta’s US hubs, customers can get direct connections to more than 200 US destinations. The expansion from Germany is part of a large transatlantic flight plan that includes almost 620 weekly flights from 32 airports to eleven US airports. Boeing 767 aircraft are expected to be used.
Thomas Brandt, Delta’s sales manager for Germany, says: “Stuttgart Airport has been an important location in our global route network for over 35 years.” It’s not just holidaymakers and business travelers who are making an important offer. “With our cargo capacities on every flight between Baden-Württemberg and the USA, we also support southern German companies of all types and sizes,” says Brandt.
Corona caused a break
Delta’s direct flights between Stuttgart and Atlanta were once the pride of the Stuttgart Airport Company because they added a long-distance connection to their flight schedule. Many members of the army and their families used the connection, as did business travelers between Stuttgart and the southern United States. The partial renovation of the runway in Stuttgart in spring 2020 temporarily prevented heavy aircraft from taking off and landing, after which the corona pandemic and the ensuing lull in air traffic brought this route to an end. After that, Delta initially announced that it would resume flights on October 30, 2022, but that is now only a one-year delay in becoming a reality. Airport manager Ulrich Heppe is correspondingly delighted. He says: “Direct flights to the USA have been of enormous importance to us for many years. This is a real win for the people and economy of the region and for our American friends.”