Quick Turn at Stuttgart (EDDS)

What changes at Stuttgart?

Stuttgart is a fully coordinated Level 3 airport, which means every movement—arrival and departure—requires a slot issued by Flughafenkoordination Deutschland. Your turnaround window is fixed, not negotiable, and the detailing crew works inside that window. The General Aviation Terminal sits at Flughafenstrasse 116, separate from the passenger terminals, and all GA handling is run by Kurz Aviation Service, the airport's named handling partner. Hangar space across two hangars—Hangar 1 heated at 6,000 m², Hangar 2 unheated at 3,000 m²—is subject to availability, and contractors access the GA apron through the handler's airside escort.

The airport operates H24 with night restrictions: no take-offs after 23:00 and no civil jet landings between 23:30 and 06:00 local, except for delayed flights originally scheduled before 23:30, which may land until midnight. The GAT itself is staffed from 05:30 to 23:00 (weekends until 22:30), so late-evening detailing must be pre-arranged with the handler. Jet departures are permitted from 06:00 to 23:00 and arrivals from 06:00 to 23:30, compressing the evening schedule. Customs and immigration are available on site 24/7 at the GAT, making Stuttgart a full airport of entry.

Messe Stuttgart, the state trade-fair centre, sits directly next to the airport and has done since 2007. During major trade-fair weeks—automotive, industrial automation, logistics—business-aviation peaks put pressure on parking stands, hangar slots and turnaround windows. If you operate a recurring schedule through Stuttgart, your handler will flag fair dates well in advance so you can secure stands and detailing time.

How does a quick turn fit inside a slot-coordinated turnaround?

The slot defines your arrival block and departure block; the detailing crew works inside the gap. A typical quick turn takes 45 to 90 minutes depending on aircraft size—a super-midsize cabin can be vacuumed, surfaces wiped, galley restocked and windows cleaned in under an hour, while an ACJ or ultra-long-range cabin with multiple zones, a full galley and larger windscreens will push toward 90 minutes. The handler coordinates ground power, airside access and stand allocation; we coordinate with the handler to arrive as soon as the aircraft is on stand and chocked.

Waterless exterior work—nose, leading edges, entry area and cheat line—adds ten to fifteen minutes and is done while the cabin crew restock or while the cockpit is being wiped. The exterior wipe removes operational grime, bug strikes and light dust without introducing water to cold-soaked surfaces or pitot-static ports, so there is no rinse, no run-off and no delay waiting for the aircraft to dry. If you have a tighter slot window, the exterior can be skipped and the service becomes cabin-only; if you have margin, we can add a belly inspection or gear-bay wipe on request.

Every quick turn closes with a timestamped photo report showing the cabin, galley, lavatory, windows and exterior areas completed. The report goes to the captain or dispatcher by email or WhatsApp before departure, so the crew boards knowing the aircraft is clean and the tech log notes any squawks we spotted—a loose seat trim, a galley latch that needs attention, a window seal weeping. That documentation is especially useful at a coordinated airport where delays ripple: if a follow-on crew questions cabin state, the photo record settles it.

Why waterless exterior between legs?

Water and tight turnarounds do not mix. A rinseless or dry-wash wipe takes the operational film off the nose, the leading edges of the wing and horizontal stabiliser, and the fuselage around the entry door—the areas passengers and crew see—without introducing moisture to avionics bays, static ports or cold-soaked skin. There is no overspray onto the apron, no run-off into drains, no wait for the aircraft to dry, and no risk of water freezing in panel gaps if the aircraft has just landed from altitude and the skin is still cold.

The wipe removes the visible dirt: bug strikes on the radome, exhaust staining on the nacelles, dust on the windscreens and belt-line. It is not a substitute for a full wash—you will not recover gloss or remove heavy staining—but it resets the aircraft to a professional appearance for the next leg. If the aircraft is staying at Stuttgart overnight or for a longer turnaround, a full wash or a single-stage polish can be scheduled around the slot and the handler's stand plan; the quick turn is the bridge that keeps the cabin and exterior presentable when the schedule does not allow more.

What does the cabin reset include?

The cabin reset is a vacuum of all carpets and a damp-wipe of all hard surfaces: seat leather, armrests, credenza tops, galley counters, lavatory sinks and mirrors, cockpit glareshield and side consoles. We empty the trash, replace bin liners, wipe the galley sink and microwave or oven interior, restock galley supplies and lavatory consumables with items you provide or the handler holds, and vacuum the cockpit floor and wipe the instrument panel surround. Cockpit and cabin windows are cleaned inside with a streak-free glass cleaner; we do not touch avionics screens, only the glass.

If the previous leg was catered, we collect used serviceware, wipe down galley drawers, and leave the galley reset for the next catering load. If the lavatory has been used, we clean the toilet bowl, wipe the vanity, restock towels and soap, and neutralise odour. The final step is a light cabin scent—nothing heavy, just enough to lift the closed-cabin smell—and a walk-through to check that all stowage is closed, seats are straight, and the cabin is ready for boarding. The photo report captures the galley, lavatory, cabin overview and cockpit before we leave the aircraft.

Recurring schedule or on-call quick turns at Stuttgart?

Both models work, and many operators use a hybrid. A recurring schedule—every Tuesday and Thursday inbound at 14:00, quick turn, outbound at 16:30—lets the handler pre-book stand space, the detailing crew pre-position supplies, and the invoice flow becomes predictable. Recurring work is quoted at a lower unit rate because the mobilisation cost is spread, and the crew learns the aircraft: they know which galley drawer sticks, which seat recline needs care, which window seal weeps slightly and should be noted. If your schedule shifts by a day or an hour, we adjust; if a leg cancels, you call it off without penalty as long as we have four hours' notice before the original slot.

On-call quick turns are booked leg by leg, typically by the handling agent or the dispatcher when an aircraft diverts, when a scheduled RON becomes a turnaround, or when a charter picks up an unplanned sector. The rate is higher because the crew mobilises on short notice, but the flexibility is total: you call, we confirm availability and price, the handler escorts us airside, and the work is done. At a coordinated airport like Stuttgart, on-call work depends on stand availability and handler capacity during peaks—trade-fair weeks or summer holiday traffic—so lead time matters. Four hours is comfortable; two hours is possible if the crew is already at the airport on another job; anything tighter depends on whether the handler can issue an airside pass and whether a stand is free.

For fleets operating a regular Stuttgart rotation—executive shuttle, charter programme, positioning legs to and from southern Germany—a recurring quick-turn contract smooths operations. The handler knows the detailing crew is part of the turnaround checklist, the crew knows the fleet's cabin materials and galley layout, and the photo reports build a service history that helps track cabin wear and plan deeper detailing during longer ground times.

What about trade-fair peaks and parking pressure?

Messe Stuttgart drives business-aviation peaks that coincide with major trade fairs—automotive shows, industrial automation, logistics and supply-chain events. During those weeks, GA parking at the terminal is heavily subscribed, hangar space is allocated months ahead, and slot windows tighten as the airport manages the mix of scheduled airline traffic and business-aviation arrivals. If you operate a recurring schedule or know you will be inbound during a fair, your handler will flag the dates and help secure a stand and a realistic turnaround window.

Quick turns during trade-fair weeks require tighter coordination: the detailing crew confirms arrival time with the handler the day before, the handler confirms stand allocation and GPU availability, and the work is sequenced so the aircraft is released back to the handler on time for the departure slot. If parking is on a remote stand rather than at the GAT, the crew travels to the aircraft by handler vehicle; if the aircraft is in a hangar, the work is done inside and the exterior wipe is skipped unless the aircraft is towed out early. The photo report becomes even more valuable during peaks because it documents exactly what was done and when, protecting both the operator and the contractor if a follow-on crew or a charter client raises a question about cabin state.