Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Universal Aviation expands its presence in the Dominican Republic with three new locations

Heavy traffic anticipated for 2021 holiday season

Through its alliance with AVIAM, Universal Aviation - the global ground support division of Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. - has expanded its presence in the Dominican Republic with three new locations.

The newest ground handling offices are at three airports Puerto Plata (MDPP), Samaná (MDCY) and Santo Domingo (MDJB) heavily used by commercial aircraft operators that access popular tourist destinations on the island.

The new locations join Universal Aviation’s current offices in La Romana (MDLR) and Punta Cana (MDCP), giving the network five total locations in the Dominican Republic and 23 total in Latin America and the Caribbean.

"Before the pandemic, the Dominican Republic was gaining popularity as a destination for private aviation," said Danilo Rosario Jiménez, Director, Universal Aviation-Dominican Republic. “The pandemic has not slowed that growth. In fact, it has accelerated it. Tourism is booming and the Dominican Republic has become one of the most sought-after private aviation leisure destinations in the world. Based on current travel requests, we anticipate an extremely high vacation season ahead in the Dominican Republic and throughout the Caribbean."

Currently, the island is experiencing more private flights than in 2019 with no slowdown in sight, Rosario said.

“The government of the Dominican Republic has done an excellent job in creating a safe environment for tourism in spite of COVID," said Rosario. “There is also more access to private aviation parking near popular resorts, which pre-COVID was very limited. To ensure we can meet the needs of our clients, who are taking advantage of this friendly operating environment, we expanded to the most sought-after airports in proximity to world-class resorts in Puerto Plata and Samaná, as well as the business center of Santo Domingo."