In the opinion of the new director of the Civil Aviation Board, Vitelio Mejía Ortíz, the country should not sacrifice aviation safety to benefit tourism with a policy of “open skies”. He said that the government’s objective is to expedite the approval of permits to the largest number of regular airlines, and that with the implementation of this policy, the country will be able to attract a larger volume of tourism with a higher purchasing power, and such visitors are more likely to use airlines of repute, and considered best for the quality of their service and safety records.
He says that the best way to achieve a policy of open skies is the promoting of more regular airlines that fulfill all the international aviation standards and will fly all year round, not just in the high season.
He clarified the fact that the authorizations granted for 18 airlines at the last meeting of the board does not indicate that department will approve all flights, but that these were cases that had been under discussion, filled all the requirements, and most of them have operated here before.
He commented that the board under the new authorities has to contemplate the possibility of expansion to include the free zone industries, as these are constant and heavy users of airline services.
He said that his goal at the department is to harmonize the civil aviation sectors with the U.S. aviation authorities so that the D.R. can meet requirements for category 2, which permits flights to the U.S. under the supervision of the U.S. authorities. At present, the country is listed as category 3, and no flights by Dominican airlines are permitted to land in the U.S. under the responsibility of the Dominican authorities. Mr Mejía Ortíz said that then the next step planned for the end of the year would be authorized flights to the U.S. under Dominican supervision.