Delta launches direct-to-U.S. flight from Liberia

MONROVIA, Liberia -- Delta Air Lines Inc. has launched a direct flight from the U.S. to Liberia, becoming the first U.S. carrier to serve the West African nation since the end of more than a decade of civil war.

A statement issued Sunday by Delta says flights will operate weekly between Monrovia and Delta's hub in Atlanta with a stop in Accra, Ghana.

Before the outbreak of war in Liberia in 1989, major airlines like Pan American World Airways, Air France and even the Concord flew directly to Liberia.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf welcomed the maiden flight on the tarmac. She says the inaugural flight has "psychological significance" for Liberians.