Santiago?s Cibao airport has seen traffic volumes beyond its expectations for the first year. El Caribe newspaper reports that during its first 10 months in operation, 260,352 passengers have used the terminal, which is 18.3 percent more than the forecast for the period. The project took off gradually, until American Airlines booked its first flight into the terminal. Passengers heading to the inner Cibao provinces benefit from the terminal best, finding their land journeys greatly reduced once having landed. Whereas the Cibao airport is located approximately half an hour away from most local destinations, passengers previously faced trips of an hour or more from the larger Puerto Plata airport located on the North Coast.