Frank Elias Rainieri, CEO of the Puntacana Group, announced a new record for the Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ). In his Twitter account, Rainieri announced the airport had topped the eight million passenger mark for the first time on 30 December 2022. In 2021, the Punta Cana International Airport had handled 4,252,518 passengers.
The more than eight million arrivals in 2022 compares to the previous record in pre-Covid 2019 when traffic reached 7,106,248 travelers, according to Civil Aviation Board statistics.
The Punta Cana International Airport handles the most traffic of the six international airports in the Dominican Republic. Around 65% of all air arrivals land in Punta Cana. The airport is served by the most airlines in the Caribbean and Central America.
Punta Cana International is the first Dominican airport to break the eight million mark. “This achievement is evidence of the advances and growth of the country and the Dominican tourism industry,” wrote Rainieri in his Twitter account.
The record-breaking total comes when the airport celebrates its 39th anniversary. A major expansion is underway at the airport with US$80 million invested in Terminal B that primarily caters to US travelers. Once completed, the terminal will cover an area of approximately 25,000 m² and will have seven boarding gates with capacity for handling three million passengers a year.
Terminal B is prepared for pre-clearance immigration services that are yet to go into effect. Pre-clearance means that travelers headed to the United States from Punta Cana clear US Customs in the Dominican Republic. The measure awaits a ruling from the Constitutional Court.
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Ministry of Tourism
3 January 2023