KANSAS CITY -Southwest Airlines officially launched its new daily nonstop flights between Kansas City International Airport  and New York – LaGuardia Airport according to a media release.

The first flight from Kansas City departed Wednesday afternoon from Southwest’s Terminal B gates.

Southwest announced in November that the carrier will begin service to New York – LaGuardia, ranked 10th in daily passengers each way from KCI.

Southwest operates the flights on modern Boeing 737-700 equipment.

“Southwest’s new service to New York City will benefit both business and leisure flyers in Kansas City and the surrounding region,” said Director of Aviation Mark VanLoh. “Over the last three years, Southwest has shown their commitment to Kansas City by adding seven new nonstop routes from Kansas City, including Washington, Houston, Minneapolis and Ft. Myers, among others.”

Southwest Airlines currently operates 68 daily departures from Kansas City with nonstop service to 24 destinations.