Southwest Airlines planning to add new nonstop flight between Richmond and Denver in May, while JetBlue pauses West Coast flights in April | Business News [Video]

Starting in May, Richmond-area travelers will have a new option for daily flights to Denver.

Southwest Airlines announced this week that it plans to add a new nonstop daily flight starting May 9 between Richmond International Airport and Colorado’s capital.

The new Denver destination by Southwest will compete with a nonstop flight to Denver that United Airlines started in April 2016.

Dallas-based Southwest announced earlier this month that it was expanding service from Richmond International Airport to Chicago starting in April.

The new Denver destination comes as the Richmond area is at least temporarily losing some other West Coast flights. In April, JetBlue Airways is “pausing” its nonstop routes from Richmond International to Los Angeles and Las Vegas with plans to restart in May.

JetBlue did not respond to email and phone requests for comment on Friday, but Richmond International Airport spokesman Troy Bell said the company cited “challenging West …