The plenary meeting of the CAB heard the request of the foreign operator EW Discover to operate under the Special Permit modality the routes Frankfurt/Punta Cana/Munich; and Frankfurt/Puerto Plata/Montego Bay.
Passenger traffic in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) continues to recover and grow at a faster rate than the rest of the world’s regions, according to the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA).
The information published by ALTA indicates that passenger traffic through international airports in Latin America and the Caribbean is the fastest recovering worldwide, reaching 90.5% of its levels compared to operations recorded prior to July 2019, followed by Africa with 87% and North America with 85%.
The report details that by July 2022, in the international market of passenger traffic mobilized via air, three countries in the region stand out as having surpassed the levels reached in 2019: Dominican Republic which reached 116% compared to 2019, i.e. 16% growth. Followed by Colombia (109%) and Mexico (106%).
ALTA’s passenger traffic report shows that in July 2022, 29.7 million people were transported in the region and, in the January-July period, 183.9 million passengers were mobilized by air terminals, which represents 13% less than their levels in 2019.
The same report reveals that domestic air transport, not being impacted by international traffic restrictions has recovered faster than passenger traffic to international terminals.
In terms of relative capacity, i.e. chairs per kilometer (ASK), the Dominican Republic stands out above Colombia, which achieved an outstanding recovery in the first half of the year with a 26% growth compared to its 2019 levels, and Brazil, which continues to improve, and reached 90% of its levels recorded in 2019.
Faced with this recognition Marte Piantini highlighted that the continued elimination of restrictions on international traffic through the Civil Aviation Board (JAC) has been crucial to achieve this position. He recalled that the country is a reference in civil aviation thanks to the support that the President of the Republic Luis Abinader has given to the sector.
More connections with Germany
During the 16th ordinary session of this year, the plenary of the JAC heard the request of the foreign operator EW Discover to operate under the Special Permit modality the routes Frankfurt/Punta Cana/Munich; and Frankfurt/Puerto Plata/Montego Bay.
During the hearing of the application, the president of the Civil Aviation Board reminded the members of the plenary that, in terms of passenger traffic, Germany is the second largest European market for the Dominican Republic with an annual average of almost half a million passengers, second only to Spain.
In this regard, the president of the organization emphasized that, with the approval of these new routes, the expectation is that, by the end of the year, this number will close with 260 thousand passengers mobilized between the Dominican Republic and Germany, which would be a record number of passengers on this route.
It is worth mentioning that the Frankfurt/Punta Cana air route is the most operated air route so far this year, transporting 181 thousand passengers in arrivals and departures in the first 8 months of the year, and the third busiest connecting with Europe.
