DRESDEN – 20 October 2017 – Following activation of the general flight schedule for summer 2018, Dresden's premier holiday airline is including new services to several European cities. For the first time, Germania will be flying to Barcelona, operating three services per week between the capitals of Catalonia and Saxony. This route is not a new one for Dresden, but was previously operated by a competitor. Germania has stepped in to fill the gap and is adding to the growing changes.

St. Petersburg in Russia is another city destination that will feature on Dresden's departures board. Starting from the end of April 2018 Germania, the airline with the green and white aircraft, will be flying twice per week to the Venice of the North until the end of October 2018. The service between Dresden and St. Petersburg is the first regular scheduled connection between the two commercial and cultural centres since German reunification.

A new holiday highlight that Germania is adding to the summer schedule, which is already available for booking and includes more than 15 holiday destinations, is a weekly service to Bastia on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. The harbour town at the foot of the Pigno massif is the ideal starting point for mountain tours as well as water sports and diving.

"With the new offering we are making good our promise to develop Dresden as a long-term base," said Sieghard Jähn, a member of Germania's Management Board, at the press conference. "In phase one we increased our offering and created attractive travel destinations from Dresden. In phase two we achieved growth and are now in phase three, where we are focusing on incoming business, which involves flying numerous European travellers to the regional capital."

"Germania's further commitment is a major gain for Dresden. Especially the service to our twin city of St. Petersburg is coming at just the right time and will be a very attractive route, not only for people from Dresden, but also - and especially - for Russian tourists. This year alone the guest nights spent by Russian visitors in Dresden have seen a 40 % increase," explained Dirk Hilbert, Mayor of the regional capital of Dresden.

"The 2018 summer schedule from Dresden will see more variety than we have had here for a long time," commented a delighted Markus Kopp, Executive Board Member of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG and Managing Director of Flughafen Dresden GmbH. "After Athens, Thessaloniki and Monastir, Germania has now announced three further destinations for which there is great demand from people travelling on business and privately. The cosmopolitan metropolis of Barcelona and St. Petersburg, the city twinned with Dresden, are extremely interesting destinations, both for the economy in the border triangle of Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland, and for people in this region looking for a city break. These two attractive routes will also have a positive effect on the guest night figures in Dresden. Corsica is another destination enhancing our tourist schedule even further by offering those keen on activity holidays a completely new incentive to travel."

Flights are available from just 59 euros one way. Tickets can be purchased at www.flygermania.com or by phoning +49 30 610 818 000 (standard landline charges apply to calls from German landlines, mobile phone charges may vary) and at selected travel agents. All prices quoted include tax and fees, as well as the legally-required air travel surcharge.