The airport was built in 1939 to replace Böblingen Airport. 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 as Echterdingen Army Airfield on the southern portion of the airfield. Some of the units operating at Echterdingen were headquartered at nearby Nellingen Kaserne- now closed and redeveloped. In 1984–5, the 223rd Aviation Battalion (Combat) of the 11th Aviation Group (Combat) was headquartered at Echterdingen, with three aviation companies assigned (one at Schwäbisch Hall). The U.S. Army still maintains a small helicopter base - Stuttgart Army Airfield - on the southern side of the airport, which it shares with the Baden-Württemberg 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. Renovation was scheduled for 2020, full closure phase was preponed to be completed in April during the corona lockdown. The original 1938 terminal was finally replaced in 2004 and there are now four terminals with a maximum capacity of approximately 12 million passengers. Politicians, town planners and nearby residents have been arguing for years about the construction of a second runway. However, on 25 June 2008, Minister-President Günther Oettinger announced that for the next 8–12 years no second runway will be built and that the restrictions for night operations stay in place. After the death of former mayor Manfred Rommel in November 2013 local politicians proposed renaming the airport after him. This proposal caused public disputes as he was the son of Erwin Rommel but also highly respected for his work on intercultural affairs. In July 2014, it has been announced that the airport will be named Flughafen Stuttgart - Manfred Rommel Flughafen from now on. In September 2016, the airport unveiled new branding and corporate design, changing its official name from Flughafen Stuttgart to Stuttgart Airport. In September 2014, United Airlines cancelled their route to Stuttgart from Newark due to insufficient demand leaving Stuttgart Airport with only one remaining long-haul connection to Atlanta provided by Delta Air Lines. In October 2014, easyJet announced they would serve Stuttgart as their seventh German destination by March 2015. In December 2014, Ryanair also added Stuttgart as a destination in their network with six weekly flights to Manchester from April 2015. Air Berlin announced the start of a service to Abu Dhabi from December 2014. On 31 May 2016, Air Berlin ceased its flights to Abu Dhabi. In October 2016, Air Berlin announced it would close its maintenance facilities at the airport due to cost cutting and restructuring measures. In July 2020, Lauda announced the closure of their base at Stuttgart Airport – which has been operated as a wetlease for Ryanair — by October 2020. Prior to this announcement, the base staff rejected a new labour agreement. In August 2024, Delta Air Lines announced the end of their flights to Stuttgart from Atlanta after already having reduced their service to a seasonal one in March 2023. This marked the end of the connection after 36 years (with a three-year hiatus from 2020 to 2023 due to COVID-19) and will deprive the airport of any scheduled long-haul destinations.