El Caribe reports that airline traffic is gradually getting back to normal. Ellis Perez, director of communications for Aerodom, said it is normal for US travellers to be reticent to fly, but he believes the shock will not last long. He said flights to Santo Domingo airport are gradually resuming normalcy.
In Puerto Plata, which receives fewer flights from the US and more from Europe, operations are almost normal with few cancellations of flights.
Walter Zemialkowski, deputy manager of the Punta Cana Airport, said “The sensation of fear is something normal but people will return to normalcy and part of that is taking vacations. We have had cancellations in the short term but in the long term we trust the season will be good.”
The East Coast-Punta Cana-Bavaro area has been one of the most affected by the US attack, as hoteliers there had significantly increased US bookings versus European travellers this year.
Ana Adela Vasquez, spokeswoman for Iberia, says they have not suffered flight cancellations. The only flight affected was the one that on 11 September was scheduled to land in San Juan prior to continuing on to Santo Domingo and instead landed only in Santo Domingo. She said they do not forsee travel reductions for October. “I think people are going to understand that it is safer to travel now than before,” she told El Caribe newspaper. (20 September 2001)
