Flight inspections in the area surrounding Stuttgart Airport

Between 12 and 16 December 2022, calibration flights will be carried out in the area surrounding Stuttgart Airport. The aim is to confirm the accuracy of a surveillance system.

This week, between 12 and 16 December, extensive calibration flights are planned in the area surrounding Stuttgart Airport. A specially equipped aircraft will check the accuracy of the multilateration surveillance system (MLAT) during the calibration flights. Surveillance systems, such as conventional radar, provide air traffic control with important position data of aircraft in airspace. With the help of this information, air traffic controllers monitor air traffic and, above all, ensure that aircraft maintain the necessary safety distance between each other.

The calibration aircraft, a Learjet 35A, will fly over all approach and departure routes, as well as over populated areas at very low altitudes. The exact timing of the calibration flights depends on weather and traffic conditions.

Calibration flights are urgently needed to check the accuracy of air traffic control technology and are also required by law.

DFS apologises to the public for any possible noise disturbance.

Media contact:
Ute Otterbein
Telephone: +49 (0)6103 707-4162
E-mail: presse@dfs.de  

DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, the German air navigation service provider, is a State-owned company under private law with 5,600 employees as at 30 June 2022. DFS ensures the safe and punctual flow of air traffic over Germany. Around 2,200 air traffic controllers guide more than three million flights through German airspace in peak years, up to 10,000 every day. The company operates control centres in Bremen, Karlsruhe, Langen and Munich as well as control towers at the 15 designated international airports in Germany. The subsidiary, DFS Aviation Services GmbH, markets and sells products and services related to air navigation services, and provides air traffic control at nine regional airports in Germany and at Edinburgh Airport in the United Kingdom. DFS is working on the integration of drones into air traffic and has set up a joint venture, Droniq GmbH, with Deutsche Telekom. Other subsidiaries include R. Eisenschmidt GmbH, which markets publications and products for general aviation, and Kaufbeuren ATM Training GmbH (KAT), which provides training for military air traffic services personnel. The joint venture FCS Flight Calibration Services GmbH offers flight inspection services.