A plane at the Colorado Springs Airport took to the skies Saturday afternoon, becoming the first in what aviation officials hope will be many to land its passengers in Cancun, Mexico — the first international flight offered at the airport.

Passengers getting ready for their flight were greeted with tables of Mexican cuisine and a performance from a traditional Mexican ballet folklórico group as officials and travelers celebrated a milestone that could be the first step to making the Colorado Springs Airport international.

Offered by Southwest Airlines, the nonstop flight to Cancun takes three hours and 40 minutes and is available Saturdays throughout the summer, with additional flights scheduled for holiday seasons in November and December.

“To be a part of the first international flight direct from here is a good feeling to have. It’s like we’re a part of the airport’s growth,” said 19-year-old Carstenz Johnston.

Johnston and his mother, Tatiana Johnston, paid $450 each to go to Cancun. The two have traveled the world together for 15 years, taking trips to  places like Africa and China. And it almost always starts at the Colorado Springs Airport.

As Pueblo residents, the two often use the airport to travel to bigger ones because driving to the one in Denver takes hours, and its long lines can sometimes take as long as the drive. They hope the one in Colorado Springs can become a one-stop-shop for international flights.

The airport’s success is pivotal for the economic vitality of the city and its district, said City Councilmember Kimberly Gold, who represents District 4, where the airport resides.

Gold hopes the flight marks the beginning of an international presence for the airport that will feed back into Colorado Springs’ markets and businesses.

“If you listen to the residents, they’ll tell you that they want to utilize the Colorado Springs Airport more, but they want more options. So, to be able to say that we now have an international flight — that opens up so many doors for us,” she said.

With many people in her district being of Mexican descent, Gold said the flight also connects locals to their families and culture — and other international flights could do the same.

“This gives an opportunity for our Mexican neighbors here in Colorado Springs, who add so much to our community, to more directly connect to their home country and their native language,” she said.

Alex Kovacs, the airport’s director of aviation, said at the inaugural event that the goal is to connect southern Colorado to the world — and this flight is the first step.

In anticipation of more international flights, the airport built a 16,300-square-foot Federal Inspection Facility to make U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing efficient for arriving international passengers, who could be U.S. citizens or people coming from other countries.

The facility was funded by a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration, according to Kovacs.

A spokesperson for the airport said a timeline for more international flights is unknown, but aviation officials are actively talking to other airlines. Future international flights are reliant on the success with Cancun, at least with Southwest.

Overall passenger traffic at the Colorado Springs Airport has seen a decline since January, according to public monthly traffic reports from the airport. The last month that had positive growth before January was July 2024.

Total passengers in April were 181,940, a 6.2% decrease from boardings compared to the same month last year.

Despite the decline, airport officials said passenger traffic is seeing “promising signs of improvement” based on numbers from April, according to a May news release. The release noted that travel demand is expected to rise through spring and summer.

“If I could wave a magic wand, I would say more flights, more flights, more flights,” Gold said. “We need folks to come and catch these flights — go on their vacations, go on their business trips (and) make Colorado Springs just the premier airport for the Front Range.”