People will soon be able to fly from Southend Airport to Paderborn-Lippstadt in Germany, home to the world’s largest computer museum.

Today, Adria Airways announced it would open a new base in Paderborn, offering an initial three flights per week from London Southend starting with the upcoming Winter season 2018/2019.

Paderborn is located in the heart of Germany and is a significant software hub, making it an attractive destination for the fast-growing tech community in the south east.

International giants such as Siemens, Wincor Nixdorf and Flextronics operate in Paderborn, which has also seen a wave of IT company startups since the 1980s.

It now boasts one of the highest concentrations of specialist IT companies in Germany and hundreds of software firms.

Visitors to Paderborn can also enjoy the culture of this historic town.

Founded by Charlemagne, it dates back more than a thousand years and has an incredible 13th century cathedral.

From 23rd July, Paderborn also hosts a nine-day festival, Libori, which combines solemn religious ceremony with a beer fountain with locals pouring kegs in to the water supply and culminates in an incredible fireworks display.

Bernard Lavelle, Southend Airport’s business development director said: “London and the south east is home to a significant software community, with London’s Silicon Roundabout and a wide range of IT companies operating throughout the South East. The ability to travel direct to Paderborn, one of Germany’s largest software hubs, should prove a major boost to business development opportunities in the region.”

Christian Schneider, chief commercial officer at Adria Airways said: “It is of great importance and achievement that Adria Airways opens a new base at Paderborn Lippstadt Airport and starts connecting this economically strong region to major European cities. We are excited to increase our footprint in the German market by adding Paderborn as our fifth destination in Germany. Today our passengers are given even more choices and a wider spread of possibilities to travel.”

Dr Marc Cezanne, managing director of Paderborn-Lippstadt airport said: “We welcome the renowned airline Adria Airways at Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport, our 'Heimathafen'. Broadbased surveys of companies in our region showed that Zurich, Vienna and London are the three most demanded European destinations. We are very pleased that Adria Airways will meet the demand by servicing these European metropolises.”