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Delta Air Lines nonstop flights from Atlanta to the German cities of Düsseldorf and Stuttgart are returning next spring, a victory for companies that have advocated for links to key regions of Europe’s largest economy.
With the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, Delta halted flights to Stuttgart, the automotive heartland that has become intertwined with Atlanta in recent years as German car giants and suppliers have deepened their roots here. Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, the luxury brands which each have their U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, are both based in the western German city.
Despite these close ties, it had been unclear if and when the flight that auto executives had used for their transatlantic commutes would return. Delta had said it would continue evaluating market conditions. The new Stuttgart flight will now run three times a week beginning March 26.
City officials from Düsseldorf, meanwhile, have aggressively pushed for Delta’s resumption of the flight, which was also last in the air in March 2020.
A delegation including the city’s mayor visited Atlanta in part to lobby the hometown airline last December, when the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, of which Düsseldorf is the capital, opened an investment and trade office here under the NRW.Global Business name. One of metro Atlanta’s most visible German investments — the TKE elevator test tower in Cobb County — was built by the U.S. arm of Thyssenkrupp Elevator, which is based in Düsseldorf as of 2021. That three-times-a-week flight will start May 9.
Delta also announced in a news release that it will fly five times per week to Edinburgh, Scotland, from Atlanta starting on May 25. That route has not operated since 2007.
See the full list of new destinations from Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles here.
Disclosure: NRW.Global Business is a Global Atlanta advertising partner.