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By this summer, Maryland will be home to Southwest Airlines' second largest operation in the United States, according to Southwest CEO Gary Kelly, who spoke at a recentBWIBusinessPartnership breakfast.

At its peak, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airportwill host 224 daily departures of Southwest flights. These will include new international service to the Caribbean and Latin America.

"BWI will continue to be the point of expansion for us in the future and obviously will be our focal point for international expansion," Kelly said.

According to Kelly, a business friendly atmosphere throughout the State and at BWI has played an important role in the airline's expansion.

"We have a very good relationship with the State, and we have an outstanding relationship with BWI. There is no better leadership at an airport than what you have here at BWI," he said.

"The costs are important ... and BWI is a very cost effective airport. We're trying to grow and we'll have needs and we're working with the airport to make investments for the future," he added.

Watch a portion of Kelly's remarks in the above video, and learn more about Maryland's business resources through the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.