At 8:52 this Thursday, the inaugural Arajet flight from Santiago de los Caballeros (STI) landed at the José María Córdova Airport (MDE) which serves Medellín. This marks the first low-cost route from El Cibao International Airport, located in the north of the Dominican Republic.
Arajet will operate two weekly flights between these cities, offering 740 seats.
“Colombia is the third highest country in terms of tourists visiting the Dominican Republic, and today, with great pride, we are the first airline to connect El Cibao International Airport with José María Córdova International Airport. This route has been introduced to strengthen tourist and commercial ties between these cities, benefiting the entire value chain of the economies of both countries“, stated Victor Pacheco Méndez, CEO and founder of Arajet.
Data from the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies suggests that the Dominican Republic ranks among the top 10 preferred vacation destinations for Colombians, showing a 122% increase in the number of travelers in 2022.
For his part, Javier Andrés Benítez Ríos, Manager of José María Córdova International Airport, said, “thanks to the commitment and vision of Arajet, we are today inaugurating a new direct route from our airport to Santiago de los Caballeros, a city in the north of the Dominican Republic and one of the main economic, social, and cultural hubs of this Caribbean country“.
The administrator of Cibao airport, Teófilo Gómezo, said that there had been a long-standing demand for a connection with Colombia, and it is even more significant that it has been inaugurated by a Dominican airline such as Arajet.
Santiago de los Caballeros is the second Dominican city that Arajet connects with Medellín, following Santo Domingo.
Arajet in Colombia
In addition to this new route, Arajet’s flight network in Colombia consists of the following:
- Santo Domingo – Barranquilla: two weekly flights.
- Santo Domingo – Bogotá: three weekly flights.
- Santo Domingo – Cali: two weekly flights.
- Santo Domingo – Cartagena: three weekly flights.
- Santo Domingo – Medellín: three weekly flights.
The Dominican low-cost airline highlighted that since they began their regular flights in September 2022, they have transported more than 280,000 passengers in their fleet of five Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Their network already extends to 18 destinations across the Americas. In recent weeks, their upcoming arrivals in Sao Paulo, Asunción and Toronto were announced.
