International organization views Dominican Government’s decision to restart commercial flights positively

The Airports Council, Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC) congratulates the Dominican Government for its decision to restart commercial flights to and from the Dominican Republic from July 1. The ACI-LAC appreciates that this decision was made after having approved the health protocol to be applied in the tourism sector as part of the national plan for de-escalation and reopening of activities.

“We recognize the decisive handling of the COVID-19 pandemic maintained by the Dominican Government, led by the High-Level Commission for Prevention and Control of Coronavirus COVID-19. In particular, we congratulate the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Public Health, the Civil Aviation Board, and all the entities that comprise it,” said Rafael Echevarne, general director of the International Airport Association for Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC).

Echevarne also congratulated the National Association of Hotels and Tourism (Asonahores) for their tireless work in defining the protocols and processes that will allow a safe restart of activities.

“We welcome the responsible decision made by the Dominican authorities, which will protect thousands of jobs that depend on aviation and strengthen the economy, having taken the correct provisions to carry out activities without putting health at risk,” he said.

Contribution of aviation

Of the 11% that tourism contributes to the Dominican Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 3.83% comes directly from aviation.

According to more specific data, aviation paid salaries in the order of RD $ 17,243 million (0.5% of GDP), directly hired 39,716 employees, and paid taxes in the order of 0.62% of GDP. In numbers, air transportation represents a gross production value-added equaling more than US $ 900,000,000.