Saturday, August 31, 2024 Delta Air Lines will permanently discontinue its direct flights between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Stuttgart, Germany, starting October 27. Initially, the airline had intended to convert the Stuttgart route to a seasonal schedule in response to decreasing demand. However, Delta has now made the decision to terminate the service entirely.
Delta’s decision to discontinue this route marks a significant shift in its operations in Germany. The airline had served Stuttgart year-round, but reservations for the route have been closed since the onset of the winter season. This change follows Delta’s earlier decision to cut its direct service between Atlanta and Dusseldorf last year.
The Dusseldorf route, which operated three times a week using a Boeing 767-300ER, provided American travelers with direct access to the German city as well as nearby Cologne and Bonn. With the cancellation of the Stuttgart and Dusseldorf routes, Delta has now eliminated two key German connections within the span of a year. This is a notable departure from Delta’s long history of serving these cities, with Stuttgart being a fixture in the airline’s network for decades, and Dusseldorf having been served consistently from 2006 to 2023, excluding the pandemic period.
Delta’s withdrawal from these airports leaves them without direct transatlantic links to North America, a significant gap given the airline’s status as the only carrier offering these connections. In the wake of the pandemic, airlines continue to adjust their operations to meet shifting travel patterns, with routes like Stuttgart and Dusseldorf, which heavily rely on business travelers, particularly affected. Stuttgart is home to major corporations like Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, while Dusseldorf is a key financial hub serving neighboring cities such as Bonn and Cologne.
Despite these changes, Germany’s efficient public transport network ensures that travelers can still reach major cities like Frankfurt and Munich via high-speed trains. Delta’s Commitment to Germany Remains Strong While Delta is scaling back in Stuttgart and Dusseldorf, it remains committed to serving Germany’s major cities. The airline will continue to operate three year-round flights to Frankfurt from Atlanta, Detroit, and New York JFK.
Munich will also maintain its year-round connection to Atlanta, along with seasonal flights to Detroit and New York JFK. Additionally, Berlin will be accessible through direct flights from New York JFK during the summer travel season. Stuttgart, though no longer directly connected to the U.
S. by Delta, will continue to be served by major European airlines from their respective hubs, providing travelers with numerous options for reaching the city indirectly from North America. Air France, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, KLM, LOT Polish, Lufthansa, Swiss, and Turkish Airlines all offer routes to Stuttgart, ensuring the city remains well-connected within Europe and beyond.
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