Delta is Eliminating its Atlanta to Stuttgart Route

Stuttgart, Germany is set to lose all transatlantic service as Delta is eliminating its route between Atlanta and the German city. Delta currently serves Stuttgart Airport (STR) with seasonal, 4x weekly service from its Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) superhub using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. According to IshrionA, the airline appears to be eliminating the route as of October 26th.

Stuttgart, Germany (STR) appears to be losing all transatlantic flights.

Delta Air Lines seems to be canceling its Atlanta (ATL) to Stuttgart (STR) route after October 26.

The airline currently flies ATL-STR 4x weekly with the Boeing 767-300ER. pic.twitter.com/9gbcSzMxno

— Ishrion Aviation (@IshrionA) August 29, 2024

If the route is eliminated, it would be the second time in three years that we’ve seen Delta cut service to Stuttgart. The carrier eliminated its year round service in 2021 due to the pandemic before resuming the route on a seasonal basis in 2023.

The seasonal route was initially scheduled to run through the end of January but, like the route in 2023, it is being cut short to October. This news has been out for some time however, the Summer 2025 schedule is out and the route hasn’t been loaded into the system. Delta has not made an official announcement announcing the elimination of the route.

Stuttgart isn’t high on the list of vacation destinations and likely doesn’t see much leisure traffic but, the route is very important for one corporate client, Porsche. The carmaker is headquartered in Stuttgart and has its U.S. operations located in Atlanta. The city is also the headquarters for Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, and a host of other high-tech manufacturers.

In a way, it’s somewhat surprising that a city with such a large corporate presence is losing its last remaining transatlantic flight (United last flew to Stuttgart from Newark in 2014). However, the city is well connected by high speed rail throughout Germany and large swaths of Europe, including direct trains to the Frankfurt Airport that run every couple of hours.

Summary

Delta appears to be eliminating its route between Atlanta and Stuttgart later this fall, leaving the German city without any transatlantic service. While I’m sure it’s disappointing for the frequent business travelers, they clearly weren’t enough to make the route sustainable. Fortunately, Stuttgart is still well connected via high speed rail including direct trains to the Frankfurt Airport.