ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport is adding a new destination starting Thursday. It will offer nonstop flights to Las Vegas, four days a week. That will change to six days a week in the winter.

News10NBC was live at Rochester airport, speaking to travelers at a party at the terminal to celebrate the inaugural flight to Vegas. The nonstop flights from Rochester to Vegas have been years in the making for Southwest Airlines.

Monroe County officials say Rochester had been the largest unserved domestic market for Vegas. We spoke with a couple from Syracuse — Bob and Ann Marie Palucci — headed to Vegas for their anniversary and a Syracuse University football game.

Because Southwest pulled out of Syracuse, the Palucci’s had to change their flight to Rochester. They didn’t know that there would be a party at their terminal.

Everyone on the flight got a pin from the organization Visit Rochester. Don Jeffries, president and CEO of Visit Rochester, said the flights from Vegas could help Rochester’s convention business.

“The first four flights are completely sold out and the incoming flight tonight is sold out. So it’s a great start and it’s great for everybody in our community,” he said.

The first flight took off at 7 a.m. and will arrive in Las Vegas five hours later, around 9 a.m. local time. This is the first time since 2008 that there have been nonstop flights from the Flower City to Sin City. The flights to Rochester took months of planning from County Executive Adam Bello and airport director Andy Moore.

“Las Vegas was our number one vacation destination that travelers requested. So, working with the county executive and working with Las Vegas, we were able to secure this flight,” he said.

Prices for flights on Thursday that News10NBC saw were around $1,000 when all the fees are added up. The cheapest we spotted was in January for $360.