Concept
Stuttgart Airport (German: Flughafen Stuttgart, formerly Flughafen Stuttgart-Echterdingen) is the international airport of Stuttgart, the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. 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 Messe Stuttgart convention center – the ninth biggest exhibition centre in Germany – moved to grounds directly next to the airport. Additionally, the global headquarters for car parking company APCOA Parking are located here. The airport was built in 1939 to replace Böblingen Airport. In 1945, the United States Army 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- 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.
