Stuttgart Airport (STR) will become the first medium-sized German hub to manage its own passenger-security lanes after signing a transfer-of-responsibility contract with the Federal Interior Ministry on 18 January 2026. From November 2026 the airport—not the Bundespolizei—will decide how many lanes are open, which technology is installed and which private provider wins the multi-year screening tender. Airport chief executive Ulrich Heppe told news agency dpa that the in-house model used at Frankfurt, Berlin and Cologne has cut average wait times by up to 30 percent and he expects similar gains at Stuttgart.(visahq.com)
If your travelers will be passing through Stuttgart once these changes take effect, VisaHQ can smooth another critical part of the journey: visa compliance. Through its Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/), mobility managers can verify Schengen entry rules, start digital visa applications and receive real-time status alerts—freeing up time to focus on the operational benefits of faster security lines.
![Stuttgart Airport to Take Over Passenger Screening, Promising Faster Queues by 2026]()
For corporate mobility managers the change matters because STR handles the headquarters traffic of Daimler Truck, Bosch and dozens of Mittelstand exporters clustered around Baden-Württemberg. More predictable security throughput lowers the risk of missed long-haul connections at Frankfurt or Munich and reduces the buffer time HR teams must build into travel policies. The airport plans to pilot computed-tomography (CT) scanners and automatic tray-return systems—equipment that allows laptops and liquids to stay in bags, speeding the process further.
Under the deal, Bundespolizei officers will retain an oversight role and can intervene if threat levels rise, but day-to-day staffing and rostering will move to whichever contractor wins the tender this spring. Union Ver.di has already signalled it will seek to transfer existing workers on comparable terms, avoiding the labour disputes that dogged Frankfurt’s hand-over in 2023.
Stuttgart’s switch is part of a broader federal strategy to unload operational tasks onto airports while keeping regulatory authority centralized. A 2025 study for the Transport Ministry estimated nationwide savings of €70 million a year once all 14 international airports adopt the model. For now, mobility teams should flag the November cut-over date in travel risk registers and monitor tender progress so they can brief travellers about any short-term construction or lane closures during the transition.
If your travelers will be passing through Stuttgart once these changes take effect, VisaHQ can smooth another critical part of the journey: visa compliance. Through its Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/), mobility managers can verify Schengen entry rules, start digital visa applications and receive real-time status alerts—freeing up time to focus on the operational benefits of faster security lines.
For corporate mobility managers the change matters because STR handles the headquarters traffic of Daimler Truck, Bosch and dozens of Mittelstand exporters clustered around Baden-Württemberg. More predictable security throughput lowers the risk of missed long-haul connections at Frankfurt or Munich and reduces the buffer time HR teams must build into travel policies. The airport plans to pilot computed-tomography (CT) scanners and automatic tray-return systems—equipment that allows laptops and liquids to stay in bags, speeding the process further.
Under the deal, Bundespolizei officers will retain an oversight role and can intervene if threat levels rise, but day-to-day staffing and rostering will move to whichever contractor wins the tender this spring. Union Ver.di has already signalled it will seek to transfer existing workers on comparable terms, avoiding the labour disputes that dogged Frankfurt’s hand-over in 2023.
Stuttgart’s switch is part of a broader federal strategy to unload operational tasks onto airports while keeping regulatory authority centralized. A 2025 study for the Transport Ministry estimated nationwide savings of €70 million a year once all 14 international airports adopt the model. For now, mobility teams should flag the November cut-over date in travel risk registers and monitor tender progress so they can brief travellers about any short-term construction or lane closures during the transition.
