SANTO DOMINGO.– The Civil Aviation Board (JAC) said today that it expects to end December with an additional one million passengers arriving and departing, compared to the total reached in 2019, and meet its estimate of 15.5 million travelers, which would represent an increase of 7.23% compared to the number transported in the year prior to the pandemic.
The company stated in a press release that the months of April through December of this year have been the best in history in terms of passenger arrivals and departures, totaling 11,661,695 passengers transported during this period.
He reported that in 28 months, from August 2020 to December 2022, during José Ernesto Marte Piantini's administration, 28,118,629 passengers were moved in and out of the country, resulting in estimated direct and indirect revenues of $25,888 million and the recovery of more than 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.
“In 2022, the Board reviewed 49 service requests, approving 9 issuances of operating permits and/or economic authorization certificates, 22 renewals, and 18 amendment requests to include new routes, thus doubling the services approved in the past year 2021,” revealed Marte Piantini.
He explained that with the initiative presented to the National Congress by President Luis Abinader, regarding the Bill for the Promotion and Competitiveness of National Civil Aviation, the levels of competition of Dominican airlines will be strengthened, positioning the Dominican territory as a connection point for the transport of passengers and cargo, and continuing to promote international investment.
In celebrating 16 years of the Dominican Republic's Civil Aviation Law 491-06 and the creation of the Civil Aviation Board (JAC), the president of the organization highlighted the extraordinary growth of the sector resulting from the correct implementation of the prerogatives of the Law and its modifications, and the Government's support for commercial aviation.
The public servant highlighted the stability that Dominican air transport is experiencing today since the process initiated in 2004 for the drafting of the Civil Aviation Law, which was finally enacted in 2006, continuing with the actions carried out by the JAC for the establishment of new airlines, new routes and more destinations.
“In the last two years we have achieved greater legal certainty, which encourages the confidence of foreign investors in national airlines, achieving the effective application of Law 491-06, which has allowed the development of Dominican air transport,” he pointed out.
Marte explained that thanks to the law's liberalized exception regarding substantial ownership, the Dominican Republic is now on par with other countries in attracting foreign investment for domestic air operators. The president of the Civil Aviation Board (JAC) also emphasized that this legislation has placed Dominican aviation at the highest levels in terms of the regulations and standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Another attractive feature of the Law is the special permits that the JAC can grant to air operators to explore the Dominican market for a certain period of time, and thus subsequently request permanent permits for the establishment of regular routes to and from the country. This mechanism, along with other strategies implemented under the administration of Marte Piantini, allowed the recovery of air transport, attracting air operations to the Dominican Republic after the opening of borders amidst the COVID-19 restrictions.
During the period August 2020 – December 2022, 6,950 flights were authorized under the Special Permit modality, and 35,185 charter flights of passengers and cargo, which added to the regular operations amounted to 230,974 operations.
