People residing in Western Washington willing to fly off to the warmer climes of Las Vegas, Phoenix and Southern California will be having more options now. The first commercial flight from Everett’s Paine Field is scheduled to take off on Monday morning. It should be noted that the flight comes after a delay last year as the airport awaited a supplemental environmental review by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as the expected number of passengers, as well as a recent three-week delay because of the government shutdown.

The plans approved by FAA by Alaska Airlines and United Airlines will offer a combined 24 daily departures from the two-gate terminal. The $40 million passenger terminal which is operated by Propeller Airports expects to see 1.4 million people each year, as per a statement from Snohomish County.

As per the plan mentioned in the website, Alaska Airlines will operate 18 daily flights to Portland, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orange County, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. United will begin offering flights March 31 and will fly to San Francisco and Denver, as its website states.

According to the price chart on those websites, tickets to Portland with Alaska Airlines begin at $44, while those to other locations range from $64 to $114.

Paine Field which is known as Snohomish County Airport has been the home of Boeing manufacturing plant for decades and it also has been used by the aerospace giant for jet testing and delivery. It has also been used by private small-plane owners, flight schools and commercial aircraft maintenance companies. It should be reported that Snohomish County entered an agreement with Propeller in 2015 to build and operate the passenger terminal for up to 50 years.

As per Snohomish County officials, commercial service is a convenient alternative to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport which will bring business to the area. But not everyone is happy with the new arrangements with a view to the potential of increased pollution and traffic.

As per an environmental assessment which was released by the FAA in September, the proposed 24 daily flights wouldn’t have a significant impact on traffic or noise. Officials from Alaska Airlines and Propeller Airports will also be there along with government officials for a Monday news conference and inauguration before the first flight to Portland, as per a statement from Alaska Airlines.