Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) announced new seasonal service between Tampa International Airport and Cancun, Mexico, starting Feb. 19, 2011.

The service will operate on Saturdays, using 142-seat MD-88 aircraft equipped with 14 seats in First Class and 128 in Economy.

Delta also is adding service between Cancun and San Antonio and Austin, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, the company said in a statement.

Delta is the sixth carrier to offer the Tampa-Cancun connection since the 1980s. The most recent carrier, JetBlue, cancelled service to the resort in 2009 when a swine flu outbreak in Mexico tamped down Tampa travel demand.

Delta’s new flights to Cancun build on the airline’s expanded presence in Latin America. The carrier has plans for new flights between its hub at Minneapolis-St. Paul and Mexico City and new service between its Detroit hub and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Read more: Delta schedules Cancun flights from Tampa - Tampa Bay Business Journal