According to airport officials, the move will allow even more international flights to land at the new airport. In addition to Southwest Airlines flying in, we’re told flights from Canada and Mexico will be touching down.

You can call it an early Christmas present for Airport Authority board members.

"It's a good day for us," Joe Tannehill, Sr., Airport Authority Board Chairman said.

Thursday, we learned the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport received the go ahead to extend the main runway 1,600 feet.

According to airport officials, the new 10,000 foot runway will open up more flights to the area, including flights from Canada and Mexico.

"Which allows basically two things, international flights one with non-stop between here and Europe and Europe and here. We can take off in a fully-loaded plane," Tannehill said.

At the beginning of the month, the Army Corps of Engineers gave the project thumbs up after the airport site passed a critical storm water run-off inspection.

The airport needed to pass the inspection for the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a permit for the runway extension.

"It means jobs. There are companies that would like to have runway access that are going to be bringing in cargo planes into the community," Tannehill said.

Crews will be on site Monday to begin extending the runway. The work is expected to take a few weeks. Tannehill says just in time for the F.A.A. test flight in late January.

Another crucial development that had to happen in advance of that test flight was the delivery of the new airport's instrument landing system. Cranes began unloading the system along the length of the runway Monday morning.

Tannehill also told us the extension will give southwest airlines more options to bring in more flights as well.