Southwest Airlines has added flight services to Syracuse Hancock Airport, to begin this coming November.

The announcement comes just days after Sen. Chuck Schumer advocated for the airline to extend their services to Syracuse, citing it as the only upstate airport without it.

Central New York residents have been known to drive to other cities to take advantage of Southwest’s fares and alternate destinations.

“Today’s news, landing Southwest in Syracuse, is no small peanuts," said Senator Schumer in a statement Thursday. “And let’s not forget, the decision by Southwest to finally land in Syracuse solidifies years of hard work by all of us to get the airport in tip-top shape — inside and out. The federal funds we’ve used to make the Syracuse airport the crown of regional and affordable travel ensures jewels of service like Southwest are here to stay, with more to come.”

At this time, a terminal and gate for Southwest have not been set, but hopeful travelers can look forward to more options at Hancock by November 14.

Flights will be bookable from SYR to O'Hare and Baltimore, which means you can get to a lot of other places, such as Miami, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and Dallas.

So what makes 2021 the year for the airline's arrival?

“I think coming out of COVID and some of the new market opportunity and really what’s happening with the community, it really lends itself to their business model,” said Executive Director of the Syracuse Regional Airport Authority Jason Terreri.

Terreri said the airline was initially coming to the airport in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic obviously changed the travel landscape, so the deal was put on pause.

Elected officials are touting the development of Syracuse and Central New York as the main reason for landing the airline. But Southwest also qualified for the Air Service Incentive Program, which according to Terreri is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. It comes from fee waivers and marketing dollars. In the 2019 deal with Delta, the program afforded the airline $500,000 for its business.

“It all depends on the service of the airline. What’s coming in, that’s how it works,” said Terreri.

U.S. Rep. John Katko said at least 500 new jobs will be created and there will likely be an economic benefit of around $80 million.

Terreri said the airport is eyeing other cheaper airlines for the future, like Spirit Airlines, but said there is nothing officially in the works.

As of 2020, Southwest is the largest low-cost carrier.