Southwest’s Freedom One shows up in Milwaukee. The jet’s paint job is a version of the American flag, complete with 50 stars and 13 stripes -…

Southwest Airlines' Freedom One made a stop in Milwaukee on Monday.

The aircraft, introduced in June, is a Boeing 737-800 emblazoned with a stylized flag of the United States, complete with 50 stars and 13 stripes just like the American flag.

The plane arrived Sunday from Phoenix and spent the night at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport. It took off for the return trip to Phoenix on Monday morning.

The Freedom One is in regular use as part of Southwest's fleet and could show up in Milwaukee or any airport Southwest serves on any given day, depending on where it is assigned to fly.

The plane's appearance in Milwaukeewas creating a bit of a buzz on social media.

Freedom One's livery that's the airline term for the paint scheme on a plane was created in honor of the company's 50th anniversary.

The livery was designed by Eric Daniels, agraphic designer at Dallas-based Southwest.

Typically, about 50 gallons of paint are used to paint an average 737, according to Boeing. Once the paint is dry, it weighs about 250 pounds per airplane.

The airline calls the plane "... a symbol of unwavering pride for our nation and its heroes."

"Southwest revolutionized the travel industry since our very first flight on June 18, 1971, a time when less than 15% of Americans ever had traveled by air," said Gary Kelly, the airline's CEO during an event to unveil the plane."The people of Southwest democratized the skies with friendly, reliable, and affordable air travel..."

Southwest is the dominant air carrier at Milwaukee Mitchell, carrying about half the passenger traffic at the airport.

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Contact Joe Taschler at (414) 224-2554or jtaschler@gannett.com. Followhimon Twitter at @JoeTaschler orFacebook atfacebook.com/joe.taschler.1.

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Southwest's Freedom One shows up in Milwaukee. The jet's paint job is a version of the American flag, complete with 50 stars and 13 stripes -...