Delta Air Lines and Columbia Metropolitan Airport are celebrating the airline’s 80th Anniversary of service to Columbia on August 8, 2014. Delta first began serving Columbia passengers in August 1934 on a sevenpassenger Stinson Model T airplane which flew 100 mph.

The airline’s first passenger flight arrived in Columbia to complete Delta’s new trans-southern route which stretched from Dallas, Texas, to Charleston, S. C., with stops throughout Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. A roundtrip airfare from Columbia to Dallas was $87.39 in 1934.

In 1934, Delta records show the airline carried a total of 1,464 passengers over its entire system. For 2013, Delta boarded over 227,000 passengers in Columbia.

The anniversary will be celebrated with a reception in the main lobby on Friday, August 8 beginning at 10:30 am.