History
The airport was built in 1939 to replace Böblingen airport. In 1945, the United States Air Force 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 at Echterdingen Army Airfield on the southern portion of the facility. The U.S. Army still maintains a small helicopter base on the southern side of the airport, which it shares with the Baden-Württemberg State Police helicopter wing. The police helicopter wing falls under the control of Stuttgart Police Department and has six modern helicopters based at Stuttgart and two in Söllingen.
The airport was expanded after World War II. The runway was extended to 1,800 m (5,906 ft) in 1948, then to 2,250 m (7,382 ft) in 1961 and finally to 3,345 m (10,974 ft) in 1996.
The original 1938 terminal was finally replaced in 2004 and there are now four terminals with a maximum capacity of approximately 12 million passengers.
Read more about this topic: Stuttgart Airport
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