The airport will give travelers access to 90 new national and international routes.

American Airlines has announced twice-daily, 50-passenger flights between Gainesville and Dallas, with a connection that opens March 3.

Gainesville Regional Airport will become part of the airline's new domestic and international route expansion, American Airlines announced Tuesday. The flights start with a once-daily round-trip flight and then expand to twice daily.

The Dallas-Fort Worth airport gives Gainesville travelers access to more than 90 new routes that weren’t previously served by existing American Airlines hubs in Charlotte and Miami, said Erin Porter, marketing and public relations manager for Gainesville Regional Airport.

New routes include flights to Bismarck, North Dakota; Fresno, California; Honolulu/Oahu, Hawaii; Ontario, Canada, and Zacatecas, Mexico; and Beijing, China, among others.

“The new flights open up so many things for our business community, educational community and for tourism, and as a convenience, the flights make it easier to get to the western part of the U.S.," Porter said.

“This will be really nice to have a more streamlined journey and to bring those extra people in. We were honored to be selected among American Airlines' new domestic routes, and that (the airport) was considered worthy of a cherished route.”

Gainesville Regional Airport CEO Allan Penksa agreed.

“It’s going to help a lot, having more airport hub options,” Penksa said. “Dallas is a big hub for Americans that be will adding to our repertoire. It’s a one-stop destination.” Penksa said. “And if there’s an issue with a flight, having another hub like Dallas opens up a lot of new scheduling opportunities.”

Penksa said the new connection to Dallas-Fort Worth could help local businesses foster opportunities.

“It helps with synergies in Dallas,” he said. “Local companies can get a direct flight to a home office or other locations. We’re excited about it.”

American Airlines and Delta will soon start sending bigger passenger planes to the airport as well, with two-class service, including Delta’s Airbus, Penksa said.

“We’ll need (the bigger planes) as we grow,” he said.

And the airport has grown, in the total number of passengers, Penksa said, and will soon expand its terminal.

The airport's yearly passenger numbers have grown from roughly 125,000 in 2003 to about 220,000 in 2017.

To keep up with those passengers, airport officials plan to expand parking in the future. The airport recently added 69 parking spots, he said.

Improvements in the works for the airport’s terminal include two new boarding gate areas, an outdoor service-animal relief area, a private lactation room, renovated restrooms, wired seating areas with charging ports and a food concession area.

Most improvement projects are in the design phase and depend on pending funding to be completed, Penksa said.

He said in a 2017 interview that terminal expansion and improvements to the existing terminal are expected to be completed by 2021.

Alachua County tourism director Jessica Hurov said she and other county tourism staff were excited to hear the news about the direct flights to and from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. Visit Gainesville hopes to ensure anyone who comes into the airport feels “welcome to the community," she said.

“It’s wonderful and exciting news for the region,” she said. “Texas is a feeder market for Florida (tourism). Getting direct flights from there (starting) in March is perfect for the airport and Gainesville as a destination.

Penksa said he considers Gainesville being chosen as one of American’s new seven domestic routes “a testament to the dynamic growth that is taking place in our region.”

Ticket reservations for the new route will be available Monday.