Airlines express concern over difficulties at AILA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Airline Association of the Dominican Republic (ALA) requested that Dominican Airports Siglo XXI (Aerodom) hold a meeting for “urgent issues” that concern the air transport sector.

In a communication addressed to Monika Infante, director of Aerodom, dated September 2, the unions indicate that the lack of coordination in the approval of schedules and operational limitations derived from specific time slots, the infrastructure limitations in the luggage and allocation for transit passenger area and its processes, fuel supply routes and equipment and the acceptance of boarding passes on mobile devices, continue to cause operational problems such as flight departure and arrival delays.

In the letter, they explain that one of the recurring issues is related to baggage straps and X-ray machines and refer that passengers, through the TY code, are charged US$2.75 in the air ticket for baggage handling services. There is an expectation at the service level that the equipment is properly maintained, avoiding the recurrence of operational problems, which among other things, cause damage to baggage, resulting in additional costs for the airlines.

The associations, represented under the signatures of the manager for the Caribbean area of ​​IATA, Annaleen Lord, and the president of ALA, Julio Heinsen, indicate that “to deal with these urgent issues, we request a virtual meeting between Aerodom, ALA, and IATA, which will also serve to address other issues that are still pending resolution, such as the ITBIS collection on SDQ and POP ramp services, and the rates for 2023.”