Speaking on the occasion of the conclusion of talks for an open skies agreement with the Dominican Republic in Washington, D.C. on 28 June 2024, US Under Secretary of State Juan Fernandez was present to make the announcement and celebrate the agreement he described as “pro-growth, pro- competition and pro-consumers”. He expects that once in place, the agreement will bring more trade, more tourists, more exchanges, more students and more opportunities for airlines and travel companies.
Likewise, Minister of Tourism David Collado was present for the announcement and said “we did it!” He called the signing a historic event that marked an end to 25 years of talks to expand the limits. So far, Dominican airlines have been limited in access to US cities.
Collado gave credit to his boss, President Luis Abinader for his commitment to US and DR bilateral relations, and his commitment to trade, tourism and air connectivity.
In a press release dated 28 June 2024, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez and Minister of Tourism David Collado from the Dominican Republic announced having met at the US Department of State in Washington, DC to advance progress on a bilateral aviation cooperation for which talks have been ongoing for several months.
During the meeting in Washington on 28 June, the delegations, representing the departments of Commerce, State, and Transportation and the Dominican Ministry of Tourism and Institute of Civil Aviation, signed a Memorandum of Consultations, marking the conclusion of negotiations on a bilateral Air Transport Agreement (also known as an “Open Skies” agreement) between the government of the United States of America and the government of the Dominican Republic.
The US Department of State reports that the proposed agreement, once signed and entered into force, will meet the highest standard of aviation transportation agreements, opening the door for the United States and the Dominican Republic to expand the two countries’ bilateral aviation relationship.
US Under Secretary Fernandez emphasized the US government’s intentions to work closely with the Dominican Republic delegation to complete the necessary domestic processes with a view to expeditiously signing and bringing the proposed agreement into force.
The present agreement limits Dominican airlines to fly to New York, Miami and Puerto Rico. The new agreement is expected to open doors for new destinations, especially for Arajet, the DR-based airline that flies to 42 destinations in nine countries from Las Americas International. Arajet recently announced it will also operate flights from the Punta Cana International Airport.
Arajet requested from the US Department of Transportation (DOT) on 1 March 2023 permission to operate flights between the Dominican Republic and San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU), Miami (MIA), and New York (EWR).
In an interview with Diario Libre, Omar Chahin, president of the Association of Dominican Airlines (ADLA) said he could not comment on the agreement because he was not aware of what was signed. He called for the Dominican authorities to publish the agreement. Previously, Chahin had complained that tax laws in effect affected the competitiveness of Dominican airlines.
Arajet is a hybrid airline. While it is based at Dominican airports, its majority ownership is foreign and thus the airline has been requesting an exemption, so as to be included with rights awarded to Dominican airlines.
For the open skies agreement to go into effect, it needs to be signed by President Luis Abinader and ratified by the Dominican Congress.
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Diario Libre
2 July 2024