Spirit Airlines today celebrated its inaugural touchdown at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF)—a company milestone that’s been years in the making. The celebration was made that much sweeter by the announcement of two additional nonstop routes set to start service this autumn between the Derby City, Tampa (TPA) and Fort Myers (RSW) on Florida's Gulf Coast.

"It's a beautiful day when we get to bring the best value in the sky to a vibrant city like Louisville and announce plans for even more ‘Go’ on Day One," said John Kirby, Vice President of Network Planning for Spirit Airlines. "I've seen so much enthusiasm across the whole Spirit Team as we prepared to welcome Guests onboard in Louisville, and we're off to a great start serving this incredible community. We look forward to everyone experiencing our unbeatable combination of service, reliability, new planes and low fares when they take their next trip."

Spirit’s first departure out of Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, Flight 1227, bound nonstop for Fort Lauderdale, was commemorated with a water-cannon salute. Today’s Spirit Airlines schedule at SDF also includes flights to and from Orlando, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, with thrice-weekly service to Pensacola starting June 10.

Today’s surprise announcement of two additional Florida routes means that SDF travelers will soon be able to fly nonstop to seven cities, as well as access Spirit’s network that spans the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean.

Because Las Vegas, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale are three of Spirit’s biggest hubs, the airline’s customers flying from SDF now enjoy easy connections throughout the United States. And, with Fort Lauderdale serving as Spirit’s largest gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America, international travelers also gain ready access to 16 foreign countries.

"When Spirit first announced they were coming to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, we said it was a great day, and it keeps getting better. Spirit is a fantastic addition to our community, and we appreciate the continued investment with two new, convenient nonstop routes since their initial announcement," said Dan Mann, Executive Director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority. "We look forward to a vibrant future with even more options for more travelers to visit our city, along with additional opportunities to travel around the country and the world."

"It's wonderful to celebrate the launch of Spirit Airlines from Louisville," said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. "Spirit's network brings even more options for businesses and visitors to reach our great city. We appreciate the airport team for their work to expand travel options for our community."

For more information, visit spirit.com .