Starting Tuesday, travellers heading to San Francisco from Edmonton will have a daily non-stop flight option.

Air Canada announced plans for the flight in November, and the first flight was scheduled to depart from Edmonton Tuesday afternoon.

Mayor Don Iveson said he pushed for the flight, he said the flight will benefit the city’s tech industry.

“Their travel back and forth will be way more convenient,” Iveson said. “There’ll be less time transferring through other airports, and so there’s productivity gains, there’s investment gains and tourism upsides all around as well.”

The flight launched a day before a delegation of dozens from the City of Edmonton, the province and the private sector were expected to travel to California.

Iveson said the delegation will meet with leaders in the technology and health sciences sectors.