The new President has appointed me as the new manager of the airport customs area (
The new President has appointed me as the new manager of the airport customs area (DGA) here in Puerto Plata (POP). Our new goal is to make the airport more user friendly, tourists orientated and a pleasure to use.
My background is college in the USA and for the last 22 years administration villa management of SeaHorse Ranch here the the Sosua-Cabarete area. Many of you already know me.
Hopefully we can all work together to accomplish these goals at the airport.
First, I welcome all arriving passengers to ask for me personally (to know me or help with problems), second if anyone has ….
1.) ideas to improve the airport customs
2.) report here any problems (be it operational, rudeness, or improper behavior)
3.) general comments to help me (us) and improve tourism to the North Coast.
You can write here. I’m aware of the past problems and the biggest complaint (expensive airport fares) and although above my pay grade, I have the ear of the new president. Let’s see.
Thank you for your time and looking forward to hearing (meeting) you. You now have a friend at the airport customs.
Evelyn Barrientos
Hello, my problem is racial profiling every time I'm about to return to Canada.
Airport employees at the ticket desk in POP always single me out from other Canadian passengers to ask me for additional ID, screening my Canadian passport with a laser to make sure it's real, asking me a bunch of personal questions, all extra nonsense that my fellow (white) Canadian passengers don't go through.
This has also happened to me in other Dominican airports like in Samana and SD.
Your airport employees/ticket agents always seem to assume that because I'm BLACK, i can't possibly have a valid Canadian passport and let alone be Canadian. They always seem to think that I'm a Dominican or Haitian trying to illegally flee to Canada.
Whats up with that?
The last time this happened to me in POP I almost missed my return flight because the employees detained me for additional screening /verification.
They even spoke to me in SPANISH like I was supposed to be Dominican because I'm black. Then turn around and speak English to the white travelers.
So, what steps will you take at POP airport to address this issue with your employees and fight racial profiling of black foreigners returning to Canada /USA/Europe?