For the first time, United Parcel Service is flying packages into and out of Natchez.

The first flight into town took place Tuesday morning.

A contractor for UPS will fly from Jackson to Natchez and back four days a week, Natchez-Adams County Airport Manager Clint Pomeroy said.

The new service is not due to an increase in deliveries but to a schedule change, Pomeroy said.

“It was enough of a time change that they could no longer drive it down here (from Jackson) in time to make deliveries,” he said.

This is the first time any commercial delivery service has made regular drop-offs and pick-ups from Natchez, he said. Aside from the occasional Christmastime drop-offs, the flights are new.

“It’s never been a regular thing,” Pomeroy said. “We’ve never had anything going out.”

The additional flights mean potential fuel sales for the airport, he said.

“I figure we’ll fill the plane up a couple times a week,” he said.

UPS first inquired about such an arrangement in early January, Pomeroy said.

“They called and said, ‘Hey, we’re looking at doing this, what do we need to do?’” Pomeroy said. “We had the UPS transportation manager talk to us about how to do it.”

UPS Transportation Manager Doris McKinney said the 30-minute flight would be significantly faster than the two-hour drive to and from Jackson.

“Flying time has definitely benefited the company to make sure we meet the services,” McKinney said Tuesday.

Bradley Harrison, owner of the Natchez UPS store, said he thought there were additional benefits to flying packages in and out of town. Wrecks and traffic jams were less of a chance when using an airplane, he said.

“It can’t hurt to have a plane flying in and picking stuff up,” Harrison said. “It eliminates the kind of risks you might run into with a truck. It’s a good thing.”