HOUSTON, July 7 (Reuters) - The first direct international flight from New Orleans since 2005's Hurricane Katrina took off from Louis Armstrong International Airport on Tuesday, another sign of the storm-hit city's recovery.

An AeroMexico jet departed New Orleans bound for Mexico City, with continuing service to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Mayor Ray Nagin's office said in a press release. AeroMexico, Mexico's largest airline, will offer nonstop flights between Mexico City and New Orleans six days a week.

Southeastern Louisiana has the fastest growing Hispanic population in the United States, with almost 250,000 Latino residents including more than 80,000 Hondurans, Nagin's office said.

Nagin called the flight an example of New Orleans' "unprecedented recovery."

"We expect to see increased business relationships among our countries, more travel to South America by New Orleanians and a larger number of international tourists," he said.

Before Hurricane Katrina, Air Canada and Grupo Taca offered nonstop international flights to Canada and Central American cities. But those airlines didn't resume international service since the storm, leaving the city without direct international flight links for nearly four years.

Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city, killed 1,500 people and caused more than $80 billion in damage, leaving the city's business climate in shambles.

New Orleans' commercial airport closed down a few days before Katrina hit in 2005, and opened about two weeks after for domestic flights.

There are other signs that the city is recovering. The metal exterior of the Superdome -- the covered sports arena where desperate residents sought shelter during Katrina -- is being replaced and the Mahalia Jackson Theater reopened in January.