SANTO DOMINGO – Las Américas Airport, the main air gateway to the Dominican Republic, suffered a nine-hour internal power outage yesterday, September 21, which paralyzed its operations and affected more than thirty flights.
Although authorities clarified that the failure was due to electrical equipment within the terminal itself and not to the national grid, the incident puts the robustness of the Dominican airport infrastructure under scrutiny.
Beyond the immediate inconveniences—delays, cancellations, stranded passengers—the impact extends far beyond the local area. AILA handles a significant portion of the country's international air traffic and, along with Punta Cana, is one of the main gateways to North America, Europe, and other Caribbean islands.
A failure of this magnitude at an airport classified as international, with regular flights from US, European, and Latin American airlines, could raise concerns about the system's responsiveness and operational safety.
In a country heavily reliant on tourism, perception is everything. The blackout has already generated headlines in local media and some international news outlets, such as Swissinfo and Yahoo News, which are reporting the story for audiences outside the island.
Aeropuerto Dominicanos Siglo XXI ( Aerodom ) issued a press release at 6:05 PM reporting the full restoration of power and highlighting that the failure occurred in an internal airport disconnect switch.
"Our technical teams worked continuously to overcome the outage, supported by the use of emergency generators. At 2:15 pm, service was restored to the southern area of the terminal, and finally, at 6:05 pm, to the northern area as well, achieving full system recovery," the company explained.
Although as of Sunday night the news had not reached the magnitude of coverage by global agencies such as Reuters or AP, the possibility of the story escalating exists, especially if the affected passengers are foreigners or if the airlines issue formal complaints.
Nor have international organizations linked to tourism and air safety, such as ICAO, IATA, UNWTO, FAA, or EASA, issued official statements regarding the power outage at Las Américas Airport. Coverage has been limited to local media and a few international news outlets like Swissinfo and Yahoo News, indicating that, although the incident has repercussions for the country's image, it has not yet escalated to the level of a global alert nor prompted pronouncements from regulatory or reference bodies in the aviation and travel sectors.
The potential repercussions are multiple: from economic losses due to compensation and logistical costs to an erosion in the confidence of international travelers and investors in the "Country Brand".
In addition, civil aviation authorities and insurance companies tend to pay special attention to these types of failures, as they expose vulnerabilities in electrical redundancy and contingency plans.
The incident raises questions about the airport's and the concessionary authorities' response capacity: Were there adequate emergency protocols in place? Why didn't the backup systems prevent the shutdown of critical operations? The answers to these questions will shape not only the local narrative but also how the international community perceives the Dominican Republic's reliability as a destination and as a regional air hub.
Ultimately, the AILA blackout is not an isolated incident: it is a reminder that, in a country whose economy revolves around tourism and air connectivity, the strength of the infrastructure is as strategic as the beaches that attract millions of visitors every year.
Swissinfo: Power outage disrupts operations at Las Américas Airport in Santo Domingo — https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/un-apag%C3%B3n-el%C3%A9ctrico-afecta-a-las-operaciones-del-aeropuerto-las-am%C3%A9ricas-de-santo-domingo/90041963
Yahoo News: Power restored to the southern area of Las Américas Airport — https://es-us.noticias.yahoo.com/apag%C3%B3n-el%C3%A9ctrico-afecta-operaciones-aeropuerto-181612271.html
