SANTO DOMINGO.-The president of the Civil Aviation Board (JAC), Héctor Porcella, declared that the open skies agreement signed with the United States should come into effect at the beginning of next year, after being validated by the Constitutional Court and the National Congress.
Highlighting the benefits that the new agreement will bring to boost tourism and trade between the country and the rest of the world, Porcella recalled that, apart from Cuba and Venezuela, the Dominican Republic was the only country in Latin America that did not have an open skies agreement with the United States.
He said that for more than 25 years the Dominican State had been unsuccessfully trying to formalize this exchange with the United States, until President Luis Abinader, Tourism Minister David Collado and the country's aeronautical authorities took it upon themselves to make it a reality.
Hector Porcella. (External source).
“Up to this point we had 70 similar agreements with other countries, although not precisely with our main political, economic and tourism partner, which is the United States of America,” he noted.
He added that now “it is only a matter of time before the agreement is validated by the Constitutional Court and the Congress of the Republic, so that it can fully enter into force, creating the conditions to expand the country's air connectivity and overcome some obstacles that limit Dominican-registered airlines from traveling to any destination in the United States.”.
Ten other open skies agreements
Porcella revealed that next week aviation authorities from the country will travel to Malaysia to participate in one of the main meetings of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAN-ICAO 2024), where the country intends to advance another 10 agreements with the same number of countries.
He reported that open skies agreements will soon be signed with Argentina and several African countries. He also announced that the Dominican Republic will host ICAN-ICAO 2025 next year, reaffirming its status as one of the most important centers for civil aviation in the world.
He noted that the Dominican Republic is an island territory and one of the main tourist destinations in Latin America - second only to Mexico - and that to continue growing sustainably it must have a highly competitive aviation system, which is the goal set by President Abinader's government.
He indicated that the agreement with the United States will mean that the country's airlines, which are now in a dynamic growth process, will have greater facilities to operate new routes to various cities in the United States, strengthening the local aeronautical fleet.
Referring to the direct benefit that Dominicans residing in the United States should receive, he said that the agreement will have an impact on reducing ticket prices, as a result of the expansion of market offerings, which will also be enhanced by other measures that the Government is adopting to expand facilities for air operators, including the 50% reduction of the aviation fuel tax.
