New Manchester air link with Stuttgart to take off next spring

A new service linking Manchester Airport with the German city of Stuttgart will commence from next spring.

German airline Eurowings will operate flights four days per week – Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday – on an Airbus A319. The inaugural flight will be on May 6, 2024.

Manchester Airport says it has the most diverse route network of any UK airport outside London, with around 200 destinations served by more than 50 airlines, and Stuttgart will become the eighth German city with a direct link to Manchester – the others are Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Dusseldorf and Freiburg.

Ryanair previously operated a flight from Manchester to Stuttgart between 2015 and 2019, and more than 78,000 passengers flew on the service in the past 12 months it operated.

Stuttgart’s economy revolves around the car industry with Mercedes-Benz and Porsche both being headquartered there.

Its university is a world leader in automotive engineering.

The city is twinned with the Merseyside town of St Helens, in what is believed to be the first such twinning in Europe.

St Helens’s relationship with Stuttgart was formalised in 1948, just a few years after World War II. As a leading manufacturer of glass at the time, St Helens played an important role in the rebuilding of Stuttgart after it was heavily bombed during the war.

Chris Woodroofe, Manchester Airport managing director, said: “We are thrilled to be adding another new destination to what is already the most extensive route network of any UK airport outside London, giving our passengers even more choice when planning their next trip.

“Our data shows that Stuttgart is one of the most in-demand destinations that is not already served, so it’s fantastic news that Eurowings will step in and meet that demand.”