Travelers between the Dominican Republic and the United States — including more than a million Dominicans in the New York City metro area — can expect to see more airline flights and cheaper fares under a new aviation agreement inked by the two nations.
The so-called “Open Skies” pact boosts the civil aviation relationship between the countries to the “highest level,” the State Department said in announcing the accord. It was signed on Friday in Santo Domingo and takes effect pending the exchange of diplomatic notes confirming details.
The agreement will mean less government interference in aviation business between the countries. It will also spell more competition and bring cheaper costs for personal travel and the shipment of goods, according to the State Department and travel groups.
The news comes just ahead of the annual National Dominican Day Parade, which steps off at noon on Sunday in Manhattan.
Fares on average are 32% lower on travel routes subject to Open Skies agreements, according to U.S. Travel Association data. The federal government has such reciprocal agreements with more than 130 partners, governing 70% of international departures from the United States, according to the State Department.
The “landmark agreement sends a clear message that the relationship between the United States and the Dominican Republic is stronger than ever and we will continue our collective efforts to further this alliance for many years to come,” said U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a Democrat whose New York City district includes the Dominican enclave Washington Heights.
The metro area, including parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, is home to an estimated 1.2 million Dominicans as of 2020, according to a demographic profile by the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute. New York City is the “hub of the Dominican population in the U.S.,” where 1 in 3 Dominicans in this country lives, the profile states.
Espaillat said Dominicans have for years faced limited flight routes between the Dominican Republic and United States that forced them to pay “exorbitant flight prices,” especially during peak travel seasons. He predicted that the agreement would boost tourism and spur job growth on both sides.
As an example of the impact of aviation liberalization, the State Department cited data showing that the number of visitors from Brazil to Orlando jumped from 74,000 in 2004 to 768,000 in 2013. A separate Brookings Institution study found that such deregulation created some $4 billion in economic gains for travelers, based on flight information between 2005 and 2009.