A weekend getaway to Niagara Falls is now just a 12-minute flight away.

Well, almost. 

On Tuesday, the Greater Toronto Airways announced plans to schedule daily flights from Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto to the Niagara District Airport in St. Catharines -- located about 15 minutes away (16.2 km) from the falls itself. 

The company hopes the new route will attract both tourists and commuters who want to avoid highway travel times and congestion.

A one-way flight from Toronto to Niagara starts at $85 and round-trip flights start at $159, according to the Greater Toronto Airways website.

Flight service for this route begins on Sept. 15.

Chair of Niagara District Airport Gary Murphy says the process to get the daily flight schedule going has been a “long haul.”

“We have worked so long trying to get this,” he said at the announcement Tuesday. “It hasn’t been easy but I’m impressed and I hope you are as well.”

According to Murphy, the airport has a long record of “clear, operational days than any other (airport) in southwestern Ontario” due to weather.

“Strategically, we’re right off the QEW. We’re thirty minutes from Grimsby, from Lake Erie,” he said. “It’s going to be a very efficient service.”

Chris Nowrouzi, the President and CEO of Greater Toronto Airways, says the service will use eight-seat executive flights as well as a commuter flight configuration to get travelers to and from destinations.

“Our main goal was to connect Niagara Falls and Toronto in a different way than ever before,” Nowrouzi said

“Our goal is to grow to connect Collingwood and Niagara, and Collingwood and Toronto, and Muskoka and other smaller regions after that.”

“It should be an interesting process for us. We look forward to everyone’s support. It’s exciting to start this process.”

Speaking to CP24 Tuesday afternoon, Nowrouzi said that his company has been heavily involved in the tourism sector for quite some time but is hoping to branch out to the business community with this latest venture.

"We find there is a lot of room to grow," he said.

He said the company will initially be offering flights Monday to Friday but eventually plans to offer service on the weekends as well.

Flights will leave Toronto at 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and will depart Niagara Falls at 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily.