Cibao International Airport and Air Europa signed an agreement yesterday at the International Tourism Fair (Fitur 2024) to bring two weekly direct flights from Madrid to Santiago de los Caballeros, to boost tourism in the northern region.
Pepe Hidalgo, president of the airline Air Europa, together with the Minister of Tourism, David Collado, signed the document and highlighted that Air Europa has maintained the country's direct connectivity with Europe for many years.
The signing was attended by executives Félix García and Manuel Estrella, representing the Cibao International Airport, as well as delegates from Visit Santiago, the platform for promoting Santiago de los Caballeros as a MICE destination.
Pepe Hidalgo recalled, during the signing ceremony of the agreement, that the first tourist flight that went to Puerto Plata with Air Hispania had to leave a deposit of 100 million in Spain in case the Spaniards were repatriated, in the year 1986-1987.
"Just look at the number of Spanish and Dominican customers who have traveled between Spain and the Dominican Republic since then. Now there will be more than 20 flights a week, so it has grown exponentially," the businessman said.
"We have reached an agreement and are 99% of finalizing and starting a new adventure that will be very productive, encouraged by Félix García, president of the Cibao airport, to invest in Santiago," Hidalgo explained.
Agrego will focus on this area, "which is very good and well-connected to America, to connect it with Europe, because we're not just talking about Madrid, since from there we can reach 20 to 30 European and national destinations. There will be good connectivity with Santiagothis summer," he added.
For his part, Félix García, president of the Cibao International Airport, commented that the terminal is preparing and investing $500 million to expand the runways and the terminal they have today, in order to accommodate more passengers in better conditions.
