The president of the Civil Aviation Board (JAC), José Marte Piantini, informed this Wednesday that connectivity continues to be added to the Dominican Republic and, after months of work with the aviation and tourism sector, they have requested new routes to expand their operations to and from the Dominican territory.
Marte Piantini pointed out that this is possible as a result of the work carried out with airlines, airport operators, national health authorities, airline industry players and operators.
During the first meeting of the JAC plenary this year, held this Wednesday, JetBlue Airways was approved the Special Permit to operate 17 flights on the Boston/Puerto Plata/Boston route, in A320 aircraft with capacity for 186 passengers, representing an offer of 6,324 seats from this January until April 2, 2022, a route that until now was not operated by any airline.
In this regard, the president of the CAB stated that “these are the first of a series of operations that will increase in the coming weeks”.
More routes
In the same sense, the plenary approved American Airlines to include the Miami/Samaná/Miami route in its operating permit.
The start of these operations is projected for March of this year with a frequency of two flights per week, and an estimated 8,056 seats to be offered from March 2022 to February 2023.
“These routes are currently not being operated by any airline. And with their entry into operation to the country, we start the year with good actions for the country’s air connectivity. From the JAC we continue our commitment to continue strengthening air operations in the Dominican Republic,” said Marte Piantini.
He added that the inclusion of five new routes to the national air operator Sky High Aviation Services, to connect Santo Domingo with the destinations of Maracaibo, Valencia, Caracas, Margarita Island and Guadeloupe, increasing with these air operations the direct flights from Santo Domingo to these South American destinations.
During the period from January 2019 to October 2021, Sky High Aviation Services mobilized 74,338 passengers in 4,196 inbound and outbound operations.
Likewise, in this first meeting, the plenary approved the issuance of an Operating Permit for Rutas Aéreas, C.A. (Rutaca Airlines), to operate three weekly flights on the Caracas/Puerto Plata/Caracas route, with an estimated 37,440 new seats during one year of operation.
In the last 15 years, Rutaca Airlines has operated to the Dominican Republic on a non-scheduled (charter) basis, thus accumulating a wide range of experience. This air operator mobilized 3,541 passengers in 294 inbound and outbound operations from January 2019 to October 2021 on routes under the charter flight modality.
Finally, the JAC members approved the application for operations in relation to the Code Share between Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España and El Al Israel Airlines, LTD, to operate the Madrid/Santo Domingo/Santo Domingo route during the winter season.
The Code Share between Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España and El Al Israel Airlines expands connectivity between the destinations Tel Aviv (Israel), Madrid (Spain) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), as part of the operations will be carried out by El Al Israel Airlines on the Tel Aviv/Madrid/Tel Aviv route; where passengers coming from Israel will be able to use the services of Iberia Líneas Aéreas de España on the Madrid/Santo Domingo/Madrid route.
These new operations are in addition to the results obtained during 2021, which closed with the arrival of 4,995,412 tourists, of which 728,335 entered the country in December alone; and also come to diversify the offer of the 134 airlines coming from 154 different airports around the world that passed through Dominican airports last year.
The regulatory body
The JAC is the highest body in civil aviation matters in the country and is integrated, in addition to its president, by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, the legal advisor of the Executive Power, the General Director of the IDAC, the Executive Director of the Airport Department, as well as the General Commander of the Air Force of the Dominican Republic, the General Director of the Specialized Body in Airport Security and Civil Aviation; Nasim Antonio Yapor Alba and Fernando Hiram Taveras, as representatives of the private sector, Andrés R. Marranzini Grullón, as representative of the private tourism sector, and Paola Plá Puello, as secretary.
