Prior to his removal from the post, the Civil Aviation Board president, Brigade General Hector Miguel Roman Torres, issued a statement on behalf of his department, explaining the reasons it had made the series of decisions that affected the carriers of German tourists, namely Taesa, Air Ambar and World Airways.
In the statement, the CAB indicates that Taesa is not flying due to the airline’s internal problems, and that Air Ambar had not received the go-ahead from the German aviation authorities. It also explains that, in the meantime, German tour operators canceled their contracts, transferring them to World Airways, just as if the U.S. airline had been authorized to fly in time.to act as the substitute carrier. The CAB also stated that Aerocancun was flying without the proper permits, and that the Civil Aviation Board recommended the cancellation of the certificate for Alas Nacionales after the air accident in February.
The CAB explained that the U.S. airline, World Airways, was not authorized to fly because the bilateral agreement with Germany calls for the routes to be covered by Dominican or German airlines.
In an official statement, the Civil Aviation Board says that the tourist sector did not make its interest in the World Airways flight permit known prior to their decision. On the other hand, that flight received a lot of opposition from airlines serving the German route, who presented proof that the market was well served by regular airlines. Aeronautica points out that 90% of the German traffic is at present carried by regular airlines, namely Hapag Lloyd, Condor and LTU.
The government aviation authority criticized those tour operators that make commitments without having the flight permits. “It is one of the major vices of the complicated business of charter flights and the mass sale of holiday packages. Sales are made and expectations created among potential tourists, upon the assumption that they will encounter no problems in obtaining the necessary approvals from the respective authorities of the countries involved,” stated the board.
The Listin Diario published a letter from World Airways where the airline recognizes the cooperation of the Civil Aviation Board and that upon making its decision, it was unaware that the true purpose of the approval of the World Airways flight was to fill an emergency situation created by the cessation of operations by Taesa and Air Ambar. The airline in a later meeting with Jose Luis Abraham said that their only objective was to help German and DR tourism, hurt by the lack of transportation offered to German tour operators with the guarantee and prestige of an airline of the category of World Airways.
Asonahores criticized the fact that World Airways was not granted the permission in time to transport over 60,000 German tourists to Puerto Plata replacing flights discontinued by Taesa and Air Ambar. Representatives of the hotel association complained that the CAB took the decision without consulting them. Following that event, a representative of Asonahores was appointed a member of the CAB as per Decree 213-96.
“If we got anything out of this it was the presence of Asonahores on the CAB,” Frank Rainieri, president of the Asociacion told the Listin Diario last week.