Cabin Disinfection at Stuttgart (EDDS)

What changes at Stuttgart?

Stuttgart is a fully coordinated Level 3 airport, which means every movement requires a slot and turnaround windows are fixed. The single runway, 07/25 at 3,345 metres, sits at 1,276 feet elevation, and the night curfew is strict: no take-offs after 23:00, no civil jet landings between 23:30 and 06:00 except delayed flights scheduled before 23:30. Jet departures are allowed 06:00–23:00, arrivals 06:00–23:30. The General Aviation Terminal itself, located at Flughafenstrasse 116 (13 kilometres south of Stuttgart city centre), is staffed from 05:30 to 23:00 daily, closing half an hour earlier on weekends.

For cabin disinfection, this compressed evening window matters: if your slot puts you on the ground after 22:00, a full sanitisation before departure the next morning is usually the only option. Kurz Aviation Service manages the GAT apron and two hangars (Hangar 1 heated, Hangar 2 unheated, space for up to 42 aircraft), and we coordinate access through them. Trade-fair weeks at Messe Stuttgart, directly adjacent to the airport since 2007, create parking pressure and tighter slot availability, so advance notice helps. Customs and immigration are available 24/7 at the GAT, which keeps international medical-evacuation turnarounds straightforward even when sanitisation extends the ground time.

How does cabin disinfection fit between legs at Stuttgart?

A typical disinfection takes one to two hours, depending on cabin size and the number of lavatories. If your slot allows three hours on the ground, we can complete the sanitisation, air the cabin and have the aircraft ready for pre-flight while catering and fuel finish. Shorter turnarounds—common during peak trade-fair periods—mean choosing between a quick rinseless exterior and full interior work; most charter operators prioritise the cabin when the next leg is another charter or a medical evacuation.

We start as soon as the last passenger deplanes and the handler confirms the aircraft is released for ground services. High-touch surfaces come first: seat controls, armrests, latches, tray tables, galley counters, lavatory handles and taps, door handles and the main-cabin light panel. Air vents and gaspers are wiped down with aviation-approved disinfectant, and we treat any odour or smoke residue with a neutralising agent rather than a masking spray. The final step is a walk-through with the captain or the handling supervisor, followed by a signed certificate and a time-stamped photo report sent to your operations team before departure.

If the slot is tight or the curfew is approaching, we can schedule the disinfection overnight. The GAT apron is accessible airside around the clock for pre-arranged work, and we deliver the certificate and photos by email in the morning so the crew has documentation for the next leg.

What does the handler expect from a third-party detailing crew at Stuttgart?

Kurz Aviation Service runs the General Aviation Terminal and controls apron access, so every third-party contractor—including us—needs to be announced in the handling request and must hold a valid airside pass or be escorted. We carry our own pass for Stuttgart, but the handler still expects advance notice: aircraft registration, stand assignment if known, start time and expected duration. If the work will overlap with refuelling or catering, the handler coordinates the sequence to keep the apron safe and the turnaround on schedule.

The handler also expects us to leave no trace: all waste—used wipes, empty disinfectant bottles, odour-treatment canisters—goes into our own bags and off the apron. We do not use the aircraft's waste system or the GAT's passenger bins. If we need GPU power to run cabin lighting during the disinfection, we request it through the handler, and the cost appears on the handling invoice. For overnight work, the handler unlocks the aircraft if the crew has left and provides a secure handover in the morning, but that arrangement has to be in the original handling order.

How do you document cabin disinfection for charter and medical operators?

Every disinfection ends with a certificate of treatment that lists the aircraft registration, date, time, disinfectant product (with aviation approval reference), areas treated and the technician's signature. Charter operators filing post-flight reports and medical-evacuation providers working under air-operator-certificate hygiene rules treat this certificate as a required record, and many hand a copy to the next passenger or medical team as proof of sanitisation.

The photo report is just as important. We shoot time-stamped images of the cabin before we start—showing any visible soil, stains or odour sources—and again after treatment, with close-ups of high-touch areas: seat controls, armrests, galley surfaces, lavatory taps and door handles. The report goes by email to your operations desk and to the captain's address, usually within an hour of finishing. If the aircraft is turning for another charter the same day, the photos become part of the handover to the next crew, and if there is a passenger complaint about cleanliness, the time stamps settle the question immediately.

Does cabin disinfection at Stuttgart work for recurring contracts or one-off requests?

Both. One-off requests are common: a charter operator has a last-minute medical evacuation, a long-haul positioning flight brings the aircraft in with galley odours, or a passenger asks for sanitisation before the return leg. We can mobilise for a single turnaround as long as the handling agent has two hours' notice and the slot window allows the work. Payment is by invoice after the flight, and the certificate and photos serve as the service record.

Recurring work makes more sense for fleets based at Stuttgart or charter operators with regular weekly slots. A monthly disinfection schedule—treating the cabin after every tenth flight hour or every five charter legs, whichever comes first—keeps odours and microbial load under control without waiting for a problem to appear. We set standing instructions with Kurz Aviation at the GAT: the handler notifies us when your aircraft lands, we complete the disinfection during the planned ground time, and the certificate is filed automatically in your maintenance tracking system. Invoicing moves to a monthly cycle, and the per-treatment price drops once the volume justifies a contract rate.

For aircraft that winter at Stuttgart or spend trade-fair season parked at the GAT, a deep disinfection at the start and end of the period—plus a monthly air-path treatment if the aircraft sits idle—prevents musty odours and keeps the cabin ready for immediate dispatch when the owner or charter customer calls.

Why add odour neutralisation to a cabin disinfection at Stuttgart?

Disinfection kills surface bacteria and viruses; odour neutralisation removes the smell they leave behind, along with galley odours, lavatory residue, smoke and the stale-air smell that builds up on long positioning flights. We use a neutralising agent, not a perfume or masking spray, so the cabin smells of nothing rather than of fake lemon or pine. That matters for charter passengers with fragrance sensitivities and for medical evacuations where clinical odours can distress the patient.

The treatment takes an extra fifteen minutes: we mist the air vents, wipe down fabric headrests and armrests with the neutralising solution, and treat the lavatory and galley drain traps if the smell is persistent. If the aircraft has been parked at the GAT for more than a week without a flight, we also treat the air-conditioning pack inlets on the apron to clear any stagnant-air smell before the next engine start. The result is a cabin that smells neutral when the next passengers board, which is exactly what charter operators want and what medical teams expect.