The director of the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC), Héctor Porcella, said that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) audited the Dominican aeronautical system. “We have full confidence that we are going to maintain category 1, which is fundamental for air operations and confidence in the safety of national aviation,” he said.
He explained that “the category one classification means that operations are safe for passengers. In fact, he maintained that maintaining the category is positive for the Dominican economy, as it is the fundamental platform for the development of tourism and international trade”.
“Between January and June 2023, the Central Bank recorded DR$7,740.8 million for tax revenues related to the travel industry. Breaking down the data, DR$2,596.4 million is from the tourism card and DR$4,933.2 million from the tax on passengers departing abroad through airports and ports,” he added.
Regarding traffic, Porcella said that “mobilizing 6,023,575 tourists in the first nine months of 2023 was possible thanks to the 152 international airlines that offered their flights to and from the Dominican Republic, from 300 destinations and 72 countries,” according to El Dinero.
“The IDAC registers 12 airlines with Dominican registration, but two others are in the process of certification, which shows the interest of Dominican entrepreneurs to invest in this segment of tourism. But, he assured that the great challenge of Dominican aviation is to continue growing”, he added.
He indicated that “they have been able to see the growth that the Dominican Republic has had in terms of local airlines and part of that expansion is to have flights to the United States, because a large number of Dominicans reside in Miami, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta”.
According to the official, it is important that Dominican airlines land on U.S. soil “to provide service to absent Dominicans and to be able to compete with a more comfortable fare in the competitive market,” he said.
Source: Arecoa
