Observation deck at Stuttgart Airport

Updated: October 2026 – If you want to see aircraft in Baden-Württemberg, the first stop is almost always the roof of Terminal 3. The observation deck at Stuttgart Airport costs no admission, sits before the security check and is reachable by S-Bahn and light rail in half an hour from downtown. Below you jets dock, and behind them begins the airport’s only runway.

This page shows you what the deck can and cannot do, when the light fits, how the runway direction in use shapes your plans and where to go when the sun is at the wrong angle.

An airport on the Filder plain with only one runway

Stuttgart Airport lies about twelve kilometers south of downtown on the Filder plain (Filderebene), mostly in the territory of Leinfelden-Echterdingen and Filderstadt. Until 2000 it was called Stuttgart-Echterdingen, and since 2014 it has carried the name of the former mayor Manfred Rommel. Construction at the present site began in 1937.

Unlike in Munich or Frankfurt, Stuttgart has only one runway: the 07/25, 3,345 meters long, extended in 1996. The terminals lie north of it, at the west end of the runway. That is exactly where the observation deck sits too. That shapes everything you see from up there: the west end of the runway is close, the east end about three kilometers away.

With one runway Stuttgart is also one of the German airports where demand at peak times exceeds capacity and slots are allocated. You still do not experience pronounced connecting waves like at the hubs, because Stuttgart is not a hub.

The deck at a glance

The observation deck is on the roof of Terminal 3, on the terrace level. The entrances are signposted from Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, and spotter guides describe the way via level 5. You stay in the public area and do not have to go through the security check. Admission is free.

In front of you lies the apron with the jet bridges where the jets dock. Behind it you see the taxiways and the west end of the runway. Instead of a glass pane, a grille separates you from the apron. According to spotters’ accounts the gaps are big enough to hold the lens through – so you do not get reflections like behind glass.

On the deck there are restrooms and trash cans, and you get food and drinks in the terminal. For kids the airport has set up a small play area with pedal planes where the little ones drive along painted taxiways to their parking position. One floor down is the Sky Land visitor center, which opened in October 2021 and explains flying and the airport with interactive stations. If you are out with family, you will find more ideas in the guide Plane spotting with kids.

Runway direction in use: 07 or 25

Because there is only one runway, the runway direction in use in Stuttgart is quickly explained: either takeoffs and landings go toward the east on 07 or toward the west on 25. Which direction applies depends mainly on the wind. Spotter guides describe both directions as used regularly, with no clear preferred direction. Westerly weather patterns, which dominate in Germany, do often favor 25, however.

For the deck the two directions are very different:

Direction	What you see from the deck	Photographically
Takeoffs on 07	The aircraft taxi to the west end, line up and accelerate away from you toward the east	Line-up and takeoff roll up close, liftoff farther away
Landings on 07	Approach from the west, touchdown not far from the terminal, then rollout	Good in view, from the side in front of you on short final
Takeoffs on 25	Takeoff roll from the east toward you, heavy aircraft lift off closer to you	Rewarding when the aircraft rotate in front of the deck
Landings on 25	Touchdown far in the east, then rollout in your direction	Long distance, strong heat shimmer on warm days

By the way, takeoffs on 25 are shortened to a takeoff run of 3,045 meters. For you that matters mainly with heavy aircraft that need a large part of the runway and thus lift off closer to the deck.

Light and photography

The deck looks south and southeast across the apron. For photographers that is the biggest restriction: around midday the sun stands right in front of you, the fuselages go dark on your side, and the sky blows out. In the morning the light comes from the southeast, so also more from the front.

It gets really good in the evening. In summer from late afternoon the sun moves to the west and northwest and lights the apron and runway from the side. Spotter guides give the time window for the deck as roughly from 5:30 p.m. until sunset. Because the deck is open into the evening in the summer half-year, you can take full advantage of this light and, with a bit of luck, still make pictures in the blue hour.

For focal length you need a wide range. For aircraft at the jet bridges and on the nearby taxiways 40 to 100 mm are enough, while for takeoffs and landings on the runway you should plan on up to about 400 mm. The east end of the runway is so far away that even long focal lengths reach their limits there – especially on warm days when the air shimmers over three kilometers of concrete. Then concentrate on what happens close to the deck.

What you get to see in Stuttgart

Stuttgart is not a hub but a point-to-point airport with plenty of European, city and leisure traffic. Important destinations are the holiday regions on the Mediterranean, Turkey and the big hubs through which travelers connect to the world.

• Eurowings: Since 2003 Stuttgart has been a base of Germanwings, today Eurowings. The airline is among the biggest operators at the airport and shapes the picture at the gate.
• Lufthansa Group: Lufthansa connects Stuttgart with Frankfurt and Munich, plus Swiss from Zurich and Austrian Airlines from Vienna. The airlines of the Lufthansa Group are handled in Terminal 3 – so directly below the deck. All three network airlines belong to the Star Alliance.
• Leisure traffic: TUIfly and Condor fly from Stuttgart to the classic holiday destinations, and Palma de Mallorca has been among the most used routes for years.
• Turkey traffic: Turkish Airlines, SunExpress and Pegasus connect Stuttgart closely with Turkey. On the Istanbul route Turkish also irregularly uses widebody aircraft such as the A330, A340 or Boeing 777.
• Other Europeans: On top come, among others, KLM, Air France, British Airways, Ryanair and Vueling. Which routes are on the current schedule is best checked beforehand.
• Cargo: A cargo center lies on the south side, and spotter guides name DHL and FedEx as well as occasional charter freighters.

Among types, narrowbody jets dominate. The Airbus A320 family – from the A319 via the A320neo to the A321 – makes up the largest share, followed by the Boeing 737-800 and the 737 MAX 8. Embraer regional jets such as the E190 and E195 round out the picture.

Long-haul has become the exception in Stuttgart. Delta Air Lines flew to Atlanta for decades but ended the route in October 2024 – since then there is no regular intercontinental route. All the more interesting are the exotics: on the grounds Lufthansa Technik and DC Aviation maintain large hangars, and business jets take off and land at the general aviation terminal. On the south side lies the US Army’s Stuttgart Army Airfield, though according to spotter guides military movements there are now rare. How to find such visitors specifically is explained in the articles Spotting business jets and Spotting rare aircraft.

The deck has also seen quite a bit historically: on May 1, 1998 the Concorde landed in Stuttgart, at the end of 2001 the Antonov An-225 came here for its first commercial flight, and on June 2, 2010 more than 10,000 spectators watched the presentation landing of a Lufthansa A380.

Getting there: S-Bahn, light rail and car

By bus and train the deck is as conveniently reachable as hardly any other spot in southern Germany. The S-Bahn lines S2 and S3 run from the main station in about 27 minutes to the Flughafen/Messe station, which lies below the terminals. The S2 runs every quarter hour during the day, while the S3 only runs to the airport at certain times. Since the end of 2021 the light rail line U6 also runs to the airport, taking about half an hour from the main station. From the platform you simply follow the signs to the observation deck. You check intervals and fares in the VVS trip planner.

By car you reach the airport via the A8 and the B27. Spotter guides recommend parking garage P0 as the cheapest option for a short visit, but the terms may change. During major events at the directly adjoining Messe Stuttgart (trade fair grounds) watch out for full parking garages and traffic jams.

A look at the future of the connection: as part of Stuttgart 21 a long-distance and regional train station will be built beneath the airport. Until then the S-Bahn and U6 remain the first choice.

How a good evening on the deck goes

What else belongs in your camera bag is listed in the equipment checklist for plane spotting. If you are brand new, the guide Plane spotting for beginners helps you get started.

Alternative spots around Stuttgart Airport

Because the deck is in backlight during the day, a second spot on the south side of the airport is worthwhile. There you have the sun at your back around midday. A well-known point is the parking lot in front of the Kaufland in Filderstadt, from which you mainly see movements on 07. The air there shimmers over the asphalt even at moderate temperatures, though.

With operations on 25 the spotter hill at the touchdown zone is the first choice. A raised platform gets you over the fence, but the way there leads about three kilometers along a field track on which cars may not drive – best take a bicycle. For the evening, spotter guides also name the general aviation terminal, where you photograph business jets and rolling landings on 07 through the fence. Further points on field tracks in the east may be restricted by the construction work for Stuttgart 21 – check on site what is accessible, and never block field tracks.

If you want to see more widebody traffic, a trip to the hubs is worthwhile. From Stuttgart the visitors’ hill at Munich Airport, the Zeppelinheim viewing platform in Frankfurt and the Observation Deck B at Zurich Airport are easy to reach. If you are looking for a similarly relaxed deck at a one-runway airport, take a look at the observation deck at Nuremberg Airport. An overview of more destinations is given by the article The best spotting spots in Germany.

Rules on the deck and at the fence

The observation deck is a public area, but not a lawless space: the airport operator’s house rules apply. Follow the staff’s instructions and barriers, and do not climb on railings or furniture to get over the grille. On crowded decks tripods are a tripping hazard – be considerate of families and other spotters.

Many people live around the airport, and aircraft noise has been an issue on the Filder plain for years. If you come to the outer spots by car, park properly, take your trash with you and behave toward residents and farmers in a way that keeps the spots tolerated in the future.

Conclusion

The observation deck at Stuttgart Airport is not a spectacular but a very rewarding spot. It costs nothing, is dead easy to reach by S-Bahn and U6 and brings you close to everything that happens at the terminal. For beginners, families and anyone who wants to see a few aircraft after work, it is the obvious choice.

Its limits lie in its orientation and the size of the airport: during the day the sun is in front of you, the east end of the runway is far away, and widebody jets are rare. If you come on a summer evening and know a spot on the south side for the daytime, you still get a full spotting day out of Stuttgart.