Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic established a record 121 new air routes to various global destinations in the first five months of 2024, announced Dr. José Ernesto Marte Piantini, president of the Civil Aviation Board (JAC), at the organization’s eleventh full-body meeting.
Dr. Piantini also revealed that within this period, a total of 60,043 air operations were approved, including 3,034 flights with special permits and 3,119 non-regular or charter flights. These operations have generated an estimated direct and indirect income of $7.646 million for the country.
He emphasized that the increase in air operations will be crucial in enhancing the connectivity of the Dominican Republic as the new government under President Luis Abinader takes office on August 16.
“The addition of new air routes during the first five months of the year has expanded and strengthened the country’s connectivity with the Caribbean, South America, and Europe,” Dr. Piantini stated.
To sustain this growth in passenger air transport, the Civil Aviation Board reviewed World2Fly’s request for a permit renewal and Neos’ request for a special permit to operate routes including Verona/Rome/La Romana; Verona/La Romana/Montego Bay; Rome/La Romana; and Malpensa/Punta Cana/Cartagena, with a frequency of one flight each.
Statistics from the JAC Air Transport Department indicate that from January 2023 to May 2024, Neos transported 143,939 passengers through 554 air operations on authorized routes. Meanwhile, World2Fly carried 466,387 passengers in 1,246 air operations between January 2021 and May 2024. Dr. Piantini noted that both national and foreign airlines operating in the country remain confident about the sector’s future, which bodes well for improving air transport efficiency in the Dominican Republic.