The Permanent Committee on Economy, Planning, and Development of the Chamber of Deputies met with airline executives to see what they could do to cut the cost of fares to the Dominican Republic. It is a fact that tickets to San Juan, Puerto Rico or Miami cost as much as a budget ticket to Europe from New York or Miami. The airlines blame government taxes, ramp fees and fuel costs for the high fares.
One deputy noted that local airlines went bankrupt because of the high taxes and fees. A spokesman for Air Century said they abandoned the highly popular SDQ-SJU (Santo Domingo- San Juan, Puerto Rico) route because they just could not compete with budget airlines based in the United States. He noted that one operator offered US$99 flights to Santo Domingo, but just the taxes on a flight to San Juan from Las Americas International Airport amounted to US$98.63.
Spokespersons from the Dominican Airline Association say high fees for airport usage (ramps, skyways, etc.) and local fuel prices increase costs and keep tourists away.
Read more in Spanish:
Hoy
4 July 2022