Damaged ILS system at AILA causes economic losses and higher costs for passengers

Santo Domingo — The instrument landing system (ILS) at Las Américas International Airport (AILA) has been operating for years, and one of its key components is out of service. This has caused frequent flight diversions in low-visibility conditions, affected airline logistics and passenger experience, and generated considerable economic losses.

Francisco Díaz, an airline captain in the United States and president of the Council of Captains, an organization of Dominican and US pilots, reported this. Daz explained that the “glide path,” the vertical component that guides aircraft to the runway, has been “damaged for years” without being repaired.

The ILS consists of four parts: the localizer (horizontal direction), the glide path (vertical direction), the distance measurement, and the approach lights.

Without the glide path, the system loses its precision landing capability, which is key to operating safely in adverse weather conditions, the pilot explained to Listín Diario.

Operational and economic consequences

When there is fog, rain, or poor visibility, flights cannot land at AILA and must be diverted to other airports, such as Punta Cana, Santiago, or even San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“That’s a huge cost for the company, for the airline, it’s a cost for passengers, in time, in everything else. And that happens constantly when there is low visibility,” said Díaz.

Pilots also face consequences. According to Díaz, when a flight is unexpectedly diverted, there is a risk that pilots will “exceed their limits,” meaning they will exceed the maximum number of hours they are allowed to fly for safety reasons.

In that case, he said they must be sent to rest in a hotel for at least 12 hours before they can fly back to their original destination.

He assured that there are no “direct risks” due to the lack of a glide path, as other types of systems exist.

Santiago: Insufficient ILS

A similar situation occurs at Cibao International Airport, where although the ILS is functioning, its category is insufficient for the foggy conditions common in the valley.

“In Cibao, visibility is worse than in Las Américas,” he said. He warned: “In Santiago, there should be at least a category two ILS, because in Santiago, visibility is so low all the time that even the category one ILS they have doesn’t work.”

Broken promises

Díaz said they have held meetings with the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC) and that its director, Igor Rodríguez, promised improvements at Las Américas and Santiago. However, so far, “nothing has been done.”

A planning problem

This reveals a structural planning flaw in the country’s airport system for the captain. “Since those airports were built, it should have been known that this was needed. It should have been a priority to get it working. But that has not been the case,” he said.