ST. LOUIS, Mo. (WJPF) – Direct flights, connecting St. Louis and Frankfurt, Germany, begin Wednesday at Lambert International Airport.

It’s the first time in nearly 20 years that travelers flying out of St. Louis are able to board a non-stop flight to continental Europe.

The Lufthansa flights will operate three days a week and are subsidized in part by a handful of large corporations in St. Louis with ties to Germany.

The first flight from Frankfurt arrives at 1:30 p.m. and then departs for Germany at 3:45 p.m. The first three outbound flights to Frankfurt are sold out.