Herrera closes, AILI opens
Operations ended at Herrera International Airport yesterday at 6 pm and the facilities were turned over to a group of militiamen for custody. Airport Department Director Andres Vanderhorst announced the end of operations on the airport's runway, according to a report by Diario Libre. Aircraft remaining at the terminal will be allowed to leave, but no incoming flights are authorized. Fifteen agents will be in charge of impeding the renewal of operations and the withdrawal of equipment at this airport until they are all transferred to the new Aeropuerto Nueva Isabela (AILI). The first flight expected at the new airport was a Caribair flight from Haiti at 7:15 am today. The formal opening function of the terminal is scheduled for noon. The new airport has not received either OACI or FAA certification for international flights.
Listin Diario reports that airlines that operated at Herrera until yesterday have said conditions aren't ready at the new terminal and have asked the government more time to move. But Vanderhorst said that the government has previously postponed the opening on several occasions and will not do so anymore.
Government offices are already operating at the new airport that was basically designed to handle local flights and small airline flights from Puerto Rico and other neighboring islands. Large aircraft cannot land there. The new installation was also built to replace the Herrera facility, which over time has been swallowed up in Santo Domingo's urban sprawl. Previous administrations have calmed major creditor demands by assigning the Herrera lands to pay off the pending accounts. Construction at the airport was begun in 1998 during the first Fernandez administration. The new airport will be managed by Aerodom, which also handles Las Americas, Gregorio Luperon in Puerto Plata, Maria Montez in Barahona and Arroyo Barril in Samana and the soon-to-be-completed El Catey in the Samana region.
Operations ended at Herrera International Airport yesterday at 6 pm and the facilities were turned over to a group of militiamen for custody. Airport Department Director Andres Vanderhorst announced the end of operations on the airport's runway, according to a report by Diario Libre. Aircraft remaining at the terminal will be allowed to leave, but no incoming flights are authorized. Fifteen agents will be in charge of impeding the renewal of operations and the withdrawal of equipment at this airport until they are all transferred to the new Aeropuerto Nueva Isabela (AILI). The first flight expected at the new airport was a Caribair flight from Haiti at 7:15 am today. The formal opening function of the terminal is scheduled for noon. The new airport has not received either OACI or FAA certification for international flights.
Listin Diario reports that airlines that operated at Herrera until yesterday have said conditions aren't ready at the new terminal and have asked the government more time to move. But Vanderhorst said that the government has previously postponed the opening on several occasions and will not do so anymore.
Government offices are already operating at the new airport that was basically designed to handle local flights and small airline flights from Puerto Rico and other neighboring islands. Large aircraft cannot land there. The new installation was also built to replace the Herrera facility, which over time has been swallowed up in Santo Domingo's urban sprawl. Previous administrations have calmed major creditor demands by assigning the Herrera lands to pay off the pending accounts. Construction at the airport was begun in 1998 during the first Fernandez administration. The new airport will be managed by Aerodom, which also handles Las Americas, Gregorio Luperon in Puerto Plata, Maria Montez in Barahona and Arroyo Barril in Samana and the soon-to-be-completed El Catey in the Samana region.