Air transport drives $4.5 billion in FDI, says IDAC chief at FARD briefing

San Isidro Airbase, DR.- Igor Rodríguez Durán, director general of the Dominican Republic’s Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC), underscored the transformative power of air transport for the nation’s economy during a briefing yesterday to officers of the Dominican Air Force (FARD). Speaking in the Miguel Ángel Restituyo events hall at San Isidro Air Base, Rodríguez Durán lauded FARD for integrating cutting-edge technology in the assembly of the TP-75 Dulus aircraft.

“Civil aviation is a cornerstone of our country’s economic development,” Rodríguez Durán said, noting that more than 200,000 flight operations, both arrivals and departures, were conducted through the Dominican Republic’s international airports over 2024 and the first two months of this year. Through that same period, 97.7 percent of the 22 million passengers who entered the country traveled via commercial air routes, he added.

Rodríguez Durán argued that efficient air connectivity not only facilitates international trade but also attracts foreign investors eager to capitalize on emerging business opportunities in the Caribbean nation. “By the end of 2024, foreign direct investment exceeded $4.5 billion,” he said, citing recent studies that attribute a significant share of the Dominican Republic’s GDP growth to aviation-related employment and services. “This figure reflects confidence in our administration under President Luis Abinader.”

He detailed how the sector supports thousands of skilled jobs, from pilots and cabin crews to airport maintenance and logistics personnel, across both public-sector regulators and private enterprises. Rodríguez Durán emphasized that these roles are among the highest-paying and most specialized in the national workforce.

Highlighting the enduring partnership between IDAC and FARD, he announced an IDAC investment of more than 650 million Dominican pesos in San Isidro Air Base. The funds will finance a state-of-the-art control tower and the installation of a DVOR-DME (Doppler VHF omnidirectional range with distance measuring equipment), critical upgrades that strengthen the nation’s Operational Safety Management System.