Tourists visiting the Caribbean can now fly non-stop between the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Low cost carrier Arajet has started direct flights that take but 1:35 minutes. In the past, people had to connect through Miami, Florida, which meant setting aside an entire day to get to either of the destinations.
The non-stop Arajet flights began Monday, 14 November 2022. The flights connect the capital cities of Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, Kingston and Santo Domingo.
Arajet is flying twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays to Kingston’s Norman Manley International Airport from Las Americas International in Santo Domingo. Round-trip fares start at US$252.
The connection now enables Jamaica to attract the thousands of tourists that visit the Dominican Republic. Tourists can now add a short flight to Jamaica.
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, 11 November 2022, at the offices of the Jamaica Tourist Board in Kingston, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett said: “For us, this is not just a game changer, this is a Red Letter Day in the life of tourism aviation in the northern Caribbean because we in the north are close to each other physically [and] geographically, but we are distant from each other regarding connectivity,” said Bartlett, as reported in Jamaica Loop News.
Previously, it took travelers as much as 20 hours to get from the DR to Jamaica or Jamaica to the DR.
Bartlett further explained that the decision to enable improved connectivity between Jamaica and the Dominican Republic “is part of a broader and wider strategy of integrating the Caribbean more, and of also creating backwards connections between Central America and South America.”
He also pointed out that air connectivity and the movement of people will bring new investments to both countries.
“One of the real positives that will flow from this engagement is that it will bring to the respective destinations that energy for investment because there will be ease of access… but the key realization is that within two hours you can be looking at your asset, making decisions not virtually but face to face and surveying the extent of your own investments and assets in the areas,” the minister emphasized.
Meanwhile, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Jamaica, Angie Martinez Tejera, also hailed the ability that both countries now have to connect by air as a “game changer.”
“This development is an important diplomatic achievement and will strengthen investments, commerce [and] tourism, but most important, in getting our people closer together,” she said.
Martinez Tejera thanked the team at Arajet Airline for making the connection a reality, noting that it has been a priority for her since being appointed.
The new connections will facilitate business operations between Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.
For his part, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Ararjet, Victor Pacheco Méndez, who joined virtually, said that the airline aims to “bridge the lack of connectivity and the lack of low fares in the region”.
He said that Arajet’s decision to offer direct flights to Jamaica forms part of the plan to launch 54 routes from Santo Domingo.
The airline is serving 16 of its targeted destinations in the first 40 days of its operation.
Read more:
Jamaica Loop News
Carib Journal
Arajet
15 November 2022