Santo Domingo.- As a precautionary measure ahead of the anticipated passage of Tropical Storm Franklin through the Dominican Republic, several airports in the country, including the International Airport of the Americas (AILA), La Isabela, and La Romana airports, were closed, leading to the cancellation of 16 scheduled flights. These flights, both commercial and cargo, were supposed to arrive at AILA during the late hours of Tuesday and the early hours of Wednesday.
The Tourism Cabinet recommended this closure measure, and in adherence to it, AILA, La Isabela, and La Romana airports suspended their operations from 10 p.m. on Tuesday, with plans to resume activities at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
This decision resulted in the cancellation of all flights scheduled during that time frame, prompting the airlines to reschedule their flights accordingly. Siglo XXI Dominican Airports (Aerodom), the entity managing and operating six airports in the country, issued a statement highlighting the impacts of this measure.
Around 10 charter flights and two cargo flights were affected on Friday night, while two commercial flights and two cargo flights faced cancellation on Wednesday. Among the airlines, JetBlue was notably impacted, with three flights originating from Fort Lauderdale, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and New York, United States, canceled on Tuesday. Additionally, one flight from Boston on Wednesday was also canceled due to the closure of the airports.