Sectors related to local aviation and tourism sectors, including the Hotel & Restaurant Association, oppose the signing of an open skies agreement. Aviation sectors say that if the agreement is signed by the Dominican government, it is unlikely that Dominican aviation companies will be able to develop. Dominican airline entrepreneurs favor the exchange of air routes between Central America and the D.R. if the airlines of both countries can operate in equal conditions. But they oppose that foreign airlines will be able to pick up passengers at Dominican airports to transport them to other destinations, which would be allowed by the agreement as it now stands. Local sectors say it will only strengthen the position of the major U.S. carriers, since Dominican airlines are banned from flying to the U.S. by that country’s Federal Aviation Agency. They say it would also benefit Central American carriers that are not banned from flying to the U.S., which would place Dominican airlines in a disadvantageous competitive position. The Dominican Republic is at present in a process of re-instating its rights to fly to the United States, but this has yet to occur.
