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Stuttgart Airport (STR): flight delays and compensation

Stuttgart Airport. As an EU airport, every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004. Here is what to expect if your flight was delayed or cancelled here, or you were stranded.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 6 min How we write our guides

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In short: Any flight departing from Stuttgart Airport that arrives 3 or more hours late, is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, or is overbooked can give €250–600 per passenger. Departures: EU261 with any airline.

About the airport

Stuttgart Airport (STR) serves Stuttgart, Germany. On the routes Eurostat reports, 8,018,350 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 64th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Palma de Mallorca, Antalya, Istanbul, Istanbul.

Every flight departing from here is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline. Flights arriving here are covered if they depart from the EU, or if an EU airline operates them from outside the EU.

Busiest routes from Stuttgart – and what a delay is worth

The 30 busiest routes on Eurostat’s 2024 data, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation in each direction.

DestinationPassengers 2024DistanceFrom STRReturn
Palma de Mallorca PMI632,0351,139 km€250€250
Antalya AYT599,3442,182 km€400€400*
Istanbul SAW447,0131,799 km€400€400*
Istanbul IST373,1631,735 km€400€400*
London LHR366,846756 km€250£220
Barcelona BCN366,565995 km€250€250
Berlin BER337,920508 km€250€250
Hamburg HAM331,609552 km€250€250
Pristina PRN325,7401,141 km€250€250*
Vienna VIE288,133546 km€250€250
Amsterdam AMS282,629511 km€250€250
Frankfurt FRA275,439156 km€250€250
Izmir ADB227,3591,844 km€400€400*
Munich MUC212,497192 km€250€250
Thessaloniki SKG209,3871,414 km€250€250
Crete HER193,1321,977 km€400€400
Budapest BUD173,314759 km€250€250
Zurich ZRH136,884146 km€250€250
Gran Canaria LPA134,9773,125 km€400€400
Fuerteventura FUE134,1252,991 km€400€400
Tenerife TFS118,0533,184 km€400€400
Ankara ESB92,4982,103 km€400€400*
Rome FCO89,095801 km€250€250
Milan LIN84,389361 km€250€250
Rhodes RHO83,6672,052 km€400€400
Lisbon LIS83,0521,833 km€400€400
Athens ATH82,7931,682 km€400€400
Paris CDG82,038489 km€250€250
Catania CTA79,0111,334 km€250€250
Faro FAO78,3891,902 km€400€400

* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.

Air traffic flow delays at Stuttgart (2025)

EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 44,435 flights arrived at STR; 464 of them were held back this way, 281 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.25 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • ATC capacity36%
  • weather27%
  • ATC staffing24%
  • other11%
  • accident/incident1%
  • equipment (ATC)0%

Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)

  1. J
  2. F
  3. M
  4. A
  5. M
  6. J
  7. J
  8. A
  9. S
  10. O
  11. N
  12. D

Worst days: 4 June 2025 – 1,120 minutes, mostly weather; 1 October 2025 – 1,031 minutes, mostly other; 16 July 2025 – 767 minutes, mostly ATC capacity.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 31,374 arrivals, 0.05 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly weather (39%) and ATC capacity (37%).

Check what happened at STR on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (27% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (60%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.

Typical delay causes at Stuttgart Airport

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 44,435 arrivals at STR in 2025; 464 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 281 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was ATC capacity (36%); weather accounted for 27%.
  • The worst day was 4 June 2025, with 1,120 minutes of flow delay, mostly weather.
  • Most long delays that earn compensation are not flow delays but airline problems – technical faults, crew shortages and late inbound aircraft – which do not count as extraordinary circumstances.

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

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    What happened?Step 1 of 4

    What happened to your flight?
    Where did you fly from and to?

    With a connection, enter your first departure and your final destination – compensation is based on the total distance.

    How late did you arrive at your final destination?

    What counts is when the aircraft doors opened at your destination – not the departure delay.

    When were you told about the cancellation?
    When did you arrive on the replacement flight?
    Which airline operated the flight?
    When was the flight?

    How many passengers were on the booking?

    1 passenger

    Every passenger gets their own compensation, children too. Infants under 2 without their own seat do not count.

    • Free, no sign-up
    • Fee only if successful (35%)
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    Local information

    • Ask the airline staff at the gate for the reason for the delay or cancellation and write it down; take a photo of the departure board.
    • From 2 hours’ delay (depending on distance) the airline must give you meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – keep the receipts if you had to pay yourself.
    • If the airline rejects your claim, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (or arrived, for flights from outside the EU), or go to court.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Stuttgart Airport?

    Yes. STR is an EU airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by EU Regulation 261/2004, whatever the airline and wherever it is based.

    Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Stuttgart Airport?

    If the flight departed from an EU airport: yes, with any airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261, with any airline. If it departed from elsewhere: only if an EU airline operated it.

    How is the length of the delay measured?

    By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.

    Related guides

    Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.

    Sources

    1. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
    2. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL

    We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.