The governments of Guatemala and the Dominican Republic signed a definitive open skies agreement. Based on the resolution, both Central American countries will minimize their intervention in air travel between their territories, whether they are passenger services, cargo operations or a combination of both.
The President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, instructed the Civil Aviation Board (JAC) to sign the Air Services Agreement previously agreed by both nations. The agreement establishes a «full liberalization» approach to the air markets of the two countries.
As stipulated, traffic rights of up to Sixth Freedom of the Air (possibility of transporting passengers or cargo between two states with an intermediate commercial stopover in the territory of the country where the aircraft is registered) for combined passenger and cargo flights, and up to the Seventh Freedom (possibility of operating between two states without a stopover in the territory of the country where the aircraft is registered) for cargo flights will be contemplated.
José Ernesto Marte Piantini, JAC’s main authority, assured that the signing of this instrument shows the commitment of both nations to consolidate and contribute to the strengthening of bilateral relations in the field of civil aviation. In this sense, he highlighted the «new opportunities for Dominican airlines» and the greater offer of services.
So far, passenger traffic and aircraft movement between the two countries is carried out exclusively through non-scheduled connections, which require special permits. There are currently no regular routes between Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. The intention of both administrations is to increase the flow of travelers between the two countries, facilitating agreements between airlines and allowing operations without frequency limits.
With the implementation of the open skies system, the new Dominican airline Arajet announced that it will operate direct flights between Las Américas International Airport (SDQ) in Santo Domingo and La Aurora International Airport (GUA) in Guatemala City. According to the company, it expects to inaugurate the service «in two months» and offer two weekly frequencies in both directions.
See also: Arajet completes its first demonstration flight to Barranquilla, Colombia
