Delta Airlines launches new service

Delta Airlines will begin to offer two new nonstop flights from Rochester's airport starting Tuesday.

The airline will offer the nonstop flights from Rochester to Detroit and Atlanta.

Rochester International Airport's Executive Director Marty Lenss said airport officials have been in talks with Delta for more than a year.

The launch of the new service coincides with the airport's traffic patterns, which tend to spike in early fall in part because of Mayo's new crop of resident doctors, he said.

"Rochester is a bit unique in that our service pattern and our peaks occur at a little bit different times of a year that a traditional market place."

About 225,000 passengers travel through the Rochester airport each year. A third of that travel is business and Mayo related, another third is Mayo Clinic patients and visitors, and the remaining third is vacationers.

About 13 percent of all passengers are international travelers.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.