Officials from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, United Airlines and the German Embassy gathered Thursday at Dulles International Airport to celebrate the launch of United’s daily nonstop service to Berlin.

People cutting the ribbon included (L-R): Paul Bobson, MWAA vice president for airline business development; Chryssa Westerlund, MWAA executive vice president and chief revenue officer; Dr. Hardy Boekcle, minister and head of economic trade, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany; Henry Bird, United Airlines managing director of Dulles hub; Scott Balyo, executive director of Capital Region USA. Photo credit: @Dulles_Airport)

The inaugural flight, a Boeing 767-400ER aircraft, departed Dulles gate D3 around 5:45 p.m. At the gate, passengers and other guests were treated to food and beverages including German pretzels with mustard as part of the pre-flight festivities.

Speaking on behalf of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Chryssa Westerlund said, “With new service to Berlin, Dulles now has nonstop service to 41 capitals around the world. In the flight’s first year, we expect passenger travel between these markets will bring the Washington, D.C., metro area an economic impact of over $22 million.”

The event concluded with a ribbon-cutting at the gate and sendoff for the 225 passengers departing on the sold-out trans-Atlantic flight.

Photo credit: @Dulles_Airport

Flights between Washington and Berlin will operate seasonally through October 27 on the following schedule:

Future passengers can book travel at www.united.com

As the summer travel season kicks off, additional destination launches are coming to Dulles International. From June 1-2, nonstop service will begin to Vancouver, London Gatwick, Calgary and Rome. Visit www.flydulles.com and follow @Dulles_Airport on Twitter for more information and to book travel.