Just when it seemed great local cultural and economic indicators could not get much better, Frontier Airlines announced a turning point for the Colorado Springs Airport.

Frontier announced Tuesday a daily direct flight to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., and regular flights to at least six other cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco and the Florida cities of Fort Myers and Tampa. More expansion may be on the horizon.

Rewind to July 2013, and the city-owned airport was almost dormant. Frontier, a revered Colorado-born airline with its hub in Denver, had given up on the Springs in April. A handful of other airlines offered indirect flights that required passengers to change planes at Denver International Airport, less than an hour away by car for people on the north side of the Springs.

Trounced by competition from DIA, which consistently ranks among the country’s five busiest airports, the future of a robust Springs airport seemed hopeless.

Then-Mayor Steve Bach, a former developer, wasn’t ready to give up. He believed the airport had been hampered by decisions of politicians and bureaucrats who lacked perspective to save a failing business. Bach appointed the Air Service Task Force.

Read more at The Colorado Springs Gazette.