A new range of long-haul flights was launched from Cardiff International Airport on Tuesday. Thomsonfly is offering weekly flights to Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Florida.
The announcement follows a turbulent few weeks for the airport, which has seen Ryanair pull out and the end of scheduled flights by Air Wales.
One industry expert said airport managers were talking to airlines all the time about new opportunities.
Last week, budget airline Ryanair announced it was transferring its Cardiff to Dublin route to Bristol airport, citing "increased charges" at Cardiff.
Recently, Air Wales stopped operating scheduled passenger flights from the airport, with routes being taken over by other airlines.
These include Irish airline Aer Arann, which stepped in to take over the Dublin route from Monday.
The first flight from Cardiff to Mexico left the runway on Tuesday at 0800 BST, and already encouraged by strong sales, Thomsonfly said it was committed to continue operating the long-haul flights from Cardiff next year.
The airport already operates flights to Florida.
There will be more long-haul flights in June, when Zoom airline introduces flights to Vancouver, alongside its existingToronto service.
'New opportunities'
Industry watcher Martin Evans, from the University of Glamorgan, has praised airport management for its commitment to expansion.
He said: "They are talking to airlines all the time, looking for new opportunities for new routes, and have got a major new development starting shortly. This is going to be an exciting future for the airport."
Thomson said the new long-haul flights from Cardiff will put an end to long trips down the M4 to Gatwick and Heathrow for travellers from Wales and the west country.
It expects more than 17,000 customers to take up the opportunity to travel to long-haul destinations from Cardiff this summer.
Miles Morgan, sales and marketing director for Thomsonfly, said, "There's huge demand for these destinations; Mexico and the Dominican Republic are two of our best-selling world wide countries.
"We know people prefer to fly from their regional airport, it just makes the holiday much more convenient and hassle-free," he added.
Jon Horne, managing director of Cardiff International Airport said the flights were "opening up the world" to holidaymakers from Wales and the west.
Meanwhile, Eastern Airlines said it will operate two flights on weekdays between Cardiff and Brussels, when it takes over the route from Air Wales on 5 June. Keith Watson, the airline's head of sales and marketing said it would enable business travellers to work in the Belgian capital without the need for an overnight stop.
He said: "We have moved as quickly as possible to ensure the continuation of this route as there have been strong business and leisure links between both countries for many years".
First Choice will start summer flights to Naples from 5 May.
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This is going to be an exciting future for the airport
