Dominican Republic sets May air travel record with 1.6 million passengers

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic welcomed a record 1.6 million air passengers in May 2026, marking a 9.2% year-over-year increase, according to the latest report from the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA).

The report said the country has sustained nearly 9% growth during the first five months of 2026, making it one of the region’s top-performing aviation markets.

Traffic with the United States, the Dominican Republic’s largest international market, accounted for 52% of total passenger traffic and grew 5.6%, outperforming the broader U.S.-Latin America and Caribbean market, which declined 1.2% during the same period. Passenger traffic with Canada, the country’s second-largest international market, rose 10.5%.

ALTA also ranked the Dominican Republic–United States route as the second most important extra-regional air corridor in Latin America and the Caribbean based on passenger volume.

Regionally, air travel reached 38.7 million passengers in May, a 2.7% increase compared with the same month last year. While growth slowed from the stronger pace seen earlier in 2026, demand remained resilient, driven primarily by domestic and intra-regional travel.