Dominican Republic expands the air services market with a request for new flights

During the sixth regular meeting of the Civil Aviation Board (JAC), Dr. José Marte Piantini announced the continued extraordinary growth of commercial aviation in the Dominican Republic in 2023. This was in response to the request for a Special Permit by national air operator Sky High Aviation to operate six routes, including Santo Domingo/Aruba/Miami and Santo Domingo/Curaçao/Miami. Sky High Aviation had already mobilized nearly 100,000 passengers in 5,332 operations from January 2021 to February 2023, and with the JAC’s approval of the Special Permit, they will be allowed to carry out an additional 394 operations from April 16 to October 16, 2023. The JAC president also noted the country’s growing importance as an air transport center for cargo and passengers, citing the request for a Special Permit by Spanish airline Evelop to operate the Barcelona/Punta Cana route.

The president of JAC also discussed an amendment to the Operation Permit of foreign air operator WORLD 2 FLY to include the Madrid/Santiago route. While WORLD 2 FLY is already authorized to offer passenger and cargo air transport services on the Madrid/Punta Cana and Madrid/Santo Domingo routes, the president of the plenary stressed that the Madrid/Santiago route is not included in any Operating Permit or Economic Authorization Certificate. With the operation of this route, nearly 12,000 passengers will be offered 14,744 seats as of June 21, 2023, with one flight per week on Wednesdays.

Finally, the president of JAC considered a request for approval to continue operations under the Shared Code modality between Air Europa and Turkish Airlines on the Madrid/Santo Domingo route during the summer season of 2023. Air Europa will be the effective operator while Turkish Airlines will be the market operator, as the JAC aims to increase access to commercial aviation in the country for a broader public.