TWO German towns will be the next new destinations to flash up on the departure boards at Southend Airport , the Echo can reveal.

The airport is in talks with the budget airline, OLT Express Germany, about flights to two German destinations.

OLT has already agreed to fly from Southend to Saarbrucken, on the Franco-German border, from October 1.

A second destination has yet to be announced, but the Echo understands it may be the historic former East German city of Dresden.

An airport spokesman said: “We are in discussions with OLT Express Germany about flying out of Southend to Saarbrucken and another destination.

“Once all the plans have been finalised, we’ll be able to provide further information about the service.”

The airport has undergone a £100million transformation since it was bought by the Stobart Group in 2008.

Its rebirth began with regular Aer Arann flights to Ireland last March, followed earlier this year by a range of regular easyJet services.

The German flights will take the total number of routes available from Southend to 13, with easyJet due to add services to Geneva and Venice to its roster later this winter.

Return flights to Saarbrucken will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and are likely to cost £77.

The town is 47 miles from the Luxembourg border, 56 miles from Strasbourg and 93 miles from Frankfurt.

Dresden, already a favourite tourist destination, is known for its Baroque city centre, and for its china.

Joachim Klein, chief executive of OLT Express Germany, said: “With our new routes, we will expand the existing offer from Saarbrucken Airport.

“We are sure that we can establish ourselves here with this attractive mix of flights, the high quality of our product and our low prices, and be economically successful.”