Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce fans rejoice: Sacramento airport to offer new flights to Kansas City

Those in the Sacramento region wanting an easy flight to the home of Travis Kelce (and Taylor Swift?) will have a nonstop option beginning this fall.

Sacramento International Airport officials announced Tuesday that Southwest Airlines will offer nonstop flights from the capital region to Kansas City’s new-and-improved airport beginning Oct. 6. The flights will be available every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday at 12:20 p.m.

Prior to Tuesday’s announcement, there were no direct flights from Sacramento to Kansas City, while a slew of airlines such as United, Delta, American and Spirit offered trips that included at least one stop. Flight time between Sacramento and Kansas City is expected to be three hours and 15 minutes, covering roughly 1,700 miles.

There are nonstop return flights available on the same days of the week leaving Kansas City at 12:40 p.m. Central time. Kansas City opened its newly built airport in February 2023.

Swift, who recently released a chart-topping album titled “The Tortured Poets Department,” made several trips to Kansas City last year during downtime from her tour to spend more time with Kelce, the star tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs. She began attending Kelce’s games last fall, causing NFL ratings to increase while drawing the attention of millions on social media.

It culminated with her celebrating with Kelce after the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers during Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. Prior to the game, American Airlines offered Flights 1989 from Kansas City to Las Vegas, a play on Swift’s popular “1989” album (and her birth year), and then return flights No. 87, the jersey number worn by Kelce. Her new songs “The Alchemy” and “So High School” are believed to be nods to her relationship with Kelce.

The two are currently in Europe, where Swift is continuing “The Eras Tour,” which has become the most profitable in history and the first world tour to gross $1 billion. The tour breaks Aug. 20 in London before picking up Nov. 14 in Toronto, potentially leaving the star singer time to attend more of Kelce’s home games at Arrowhead Stadium when the NFL starts back up in the fall.

Beyond a chance to be in the same city as one of the most famous couples in the world, Kansas City also has some of the most sought-after barbecue in the country, more than 200 fountains earning it the nickname “The City of Fountains,” a popular jazz scene, the Negro League Baseball Museum and the recently opened CPKC Stadium, which is said to be the first soccer stadium in the world that was built for a professional women’s team.