Cibao International Airport

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Cibao International Airport
Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao

IATA: STI – ICAO: MDST
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Santiago
Operator Cibao Airport Corporation
Serves Santiago de los Caballeros
Location Licey in Santiago City, Dominican Republic
Elevation AMSL 565 ft / 172 m
Coordinates 19°24′21.93″N, 070°36′16.88″W
Website Aeropuerto Cibao
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
11/29 8,595 2,620 Asphalt/Concrete
Helipads
Number Length Surface
ft m
H1 60 16 Asphalt
Statistics (Jan-Dec 07)
Aircraft operations 27,300
Passengers 1,457,230
Based Aircraft 17
Source:Departamento Aeropuertuario

Cibao International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao) (IATA: STI, ICAO: MDST) is an international airport located in Santiago de los Caballeros, the Dominican Republic's second largest city. It has a modern terminal with some of the most advanced airport facilities in the country. It mainly serves Dominicans residing in the United States, Cuba, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Puerto Rico and Panama.

Cibao Airport is a hub for Caribair, which serves several Caribbean destinations from here. Another airline based in Santiago is PAWA Dominicana, that will serve some international destinations, until they begin operations. Air Dominicana, the new flag carrier for the Dominican Republic, is going to make Santiago one of their secondary hubs. Cibao Airport is also hub for Sol Dominicana Airlines.

Although, there are no International Airlines based in Santiago, JetBlue Airways is thinking of making Santiago its first international Focus City, adding more destinations, such as Boston, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando.[1]

Air Turks and Caicos, flag carrier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, have in Santiago their major international focus city, with more than sixteen flights a week to Providenciales and a seasonal service to Grand Turk. They are also planning to add more destinations such as South Caicos, Haiti and some flights into the Dominican Republic.

Contents

[edit] History

Plans for the construction of the airport were first proposed in 1969. The Cibao International Airport Corporation was created on March 29, 1978 with the cooperation of José Armando Bermúdez (president), Victor Espaillat, Manuel Arsenio Ureña, Dr. José Augusto Imbert, Mario Cáceres and Ing. Carlos S. Fondeur, who acquired the land necessary to build the new airport.

Full ramps at Cibao Airport in the morning with flight to New York, Newark and Miami in 2003
Full ramps at Cibao Airport in the morning with flight to New York, Newark and Miami in 2003

The construction of the airport began on February 15, 2000 and was finished in 2002. The airport was inaugurated on March 18, 2002 with two direct flights to San Juan operated by American Eagle

In May 2002 Aeromar Lineas Aereas Dominicanas made the first direct flight from Santiago to the mainland United States to JFK Airport in New York City. Later that month American Airlines and North American Airlines began direct flights to New York, Miami, and San Juan. A few months later Continental Airlines began direct flights from Newark. This was followed by direct service by JetBlue Airways and Delta Airlines, both from New York.[2] Aeromar became Santiago as it secondary hub, after Las Americas International Airport.

By the end of 2005 the airport's operator began one of the biggest expansions for this airport. They expanded the custom hall and rebuilt the west and east side of the Terminal. The terminal saw the addition of a second floor. This expansion was finalized in 2006. In the actuality there is another little ampliation to the Customs area, however the biggest ampliation of this airport is planned to begin this year (2008), which will include the expansion of Runway 11, 400 m more to the west. [3]

In December 2007 JetBlue started a seasonal route to Boston on a trial basis, and due to its success, they are planing to establish it as regular service. JetBlue also showed interest in the FLL-STI route, and in January 2008, they started more concrete studies of the route. American Airlines also increased its operations to Miami and to San Juan. Continental has brought planes such as the 777 [1] and it is planning to add a second route to Newark Liberty International Airport this year. Delta just increased frequency to John F. Kennedy International Airport, and it is still looking for a possibility to launch service to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

In December, 2007 JetBlue Airways started a holiday-shuttle service to Boston, that operated from December 13th, to January 15th, 2008. JetBlue will reopen that route in the summer of 2008.

Delta Air Lines announced the discontinuation route to New York, and it will replace it with a daily flight to Atlanta starting December 20th.[4]

In April of this year Cibao International became the first airport in the country in exonerating of cashings, like the lighting, parking, use of the terminal and landing of small private planes, making it possible to the increase of the air tourism in the country. Now every small private plane are free of payment when landing in Santiago.

[edit] Statistics

2005
In this year, the airport operated up to eight flights a day to the main destinations for people in Santiago, New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, which was a record for flights from the Dominican Republic to New York. In this route, American Airlines handled more than 450,000 passengers, making it the major increasing of American in Santiago. The airport received up to 600,000 passengers this year.[5]

2006
In 2006, the airport received more than 15,700 flights from its destinations and with it more than 987,900 passengers. The airport's operator said that every year this airport surpasses the expectations of arrivals and departures of aircraft and passenger movement before every beginning of year operations. In 2007, the activities status surpassed the one million passenger use of this airport and more than 17,000 arrivals and departures. [5]

2007
2007 was a year with a big increased passenger and aircraft movements, with two more new routes and new frequencies for the actual routes, making this year the most productive for Cibao International Airport. The airport has now served to more than 1 million users this year, with an increasing of 460,000 more passengers than 2006.[5]

Statistics
Year (Jan-Dec) Passengers Traffic Movements Arrivals per Day (Max) Departures per Day (Max) Based Aircraft
In 2005 609,814 8,712 15 to 16 14 to 16 6
In 2006 987,910 17,746 22 to 24 23 to 27 11
In 2007 1,457,230 27,301 21 to 27 22 to 27 17
In 2008 n/a n/a n/a n/a 18

The minimum activity registered in a day in 2006 in this airport was about 14 aircraft and the maximum was about 28 in a day.
The minimum activity registered in a day in 2007 in this airport was about 11 aircraft and the maximum was about 31 in a day.[5]

[edit] Cibao Airport infrastructure

The Cibao Airport infrastructure consists of the main international terminal, domestic terminal and a cargo terminal. The international terminal is the most utilized and receives most of the flights operating in here and it has modern installations to make easier the check-in, boarding and baggage climb processes.

Airport Diagram in 2003
Airport Diagram in 2003

[edit] Airport expansion

Cibao Airport Corporation is expanding the international terminal, which will include a new check-in area, an extension of the commercial area with a new cafeteria, a new baggage claim and the reconstruction of a new Duty Free Zone, and the Customs Area will be ready in December.[6]

The airport's owners are planning to expand the runway and the construction of the new taxiway next to the runway by the end of 2007.[3]

[edit] Runway and taxiways

Runway 11/29
The runway length is 2,620 m, which can support all types of passenger airliners. The airport's operators are discussing the expansion of the runway to allow larger aircraft such as a Boeing 747 for long haul flights from Europe.

Runway 11/29 is one of the most modern runways in the country; it is provided of an ILS (Instrument Landing System) for the two directions of the runway. Cibao International Airport and Las Américas International Airport are the only two airports in the country equipped with this system. .[7]

Taxiways

Cibao International Airport's taxiways are composed by two exits E-1 and E-2; E-1 is located on the west side of Runway 11/29, next to the direction 11 of that runway. E-2 is located in the east side of the runway, next to direction 29 of the runway.[8]

Runway lighting

Lighting STI
RWY Designador Tipe LEN INTST THR LGT (Colour) WBAR PAPI LGT LEN RWY Center Line LGT RWY Edge LGT (Colour) RWY End LGT (Colour) SWY LGT (Colour) ILS (Colour)
Runway 11 MALSR Green PAPI 3grades None Yellow-Blue White-Blue Red None White
Runway 29 Green PAPI 6grades None Yellow-Blue White-Blue Red Yellow-White White

[edit] Flights

In its first year of operation (2002) the airport had five to six daily flights, (in 2006 it had from 17 to 25 daily flights) to the U.S., the Caribbean and Central America. Presently it doesn't offer any direct flights to Europe or Canada yet, however it is expected that it will sometime in the near future.

Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 at exit E-2 leaving the Main Terminal for a flight to Newark
Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 at exit E-2 leaving the Main Terminal for a flight to Newark

In 2005 the airport received an Antonov AN-124 of Volga-Dnepr from Spain for military activity along the border with Haiti. It remained in Santiago for two days before returning to Spain.

In 2006, Air Europa, Dominican investors and the Government, joined a total of $10 million dollars like capital to form a national flag carrier which the country currently lacks. In April 2007 Air Dominicana was born and the new carrier is expected to commence service in May 2, 2008. The president of this newly formed company is Juan Jose Hidalgo, current president of Globalia and Air Europa.

Air Dominicana started its operations on May 2 with some domestics flights between the international airports in Dominican Republic. They will begin international services by July 2008. [9] The main hub of this airline will be Punta Cana International Airport. Las Américas International Airport, in Santo Domingo, and Cibao International Airport in Santiago will both become secondary hubs.

Another airline, named Sol Dominicana Airlines, will be based both at Cibao International Airport and La Romana International Airport. It would commence flights with two types of airplanes, mainly five BAE-146 and two Boeing 767-200. The airline is estimated to have began operations in June of 2008, with flights from La Romana to Brazil.

Increased passenger status
Since its inauguration, Cibao International has been projected to become one of most busiest airports in terms of passenger traffic in the country. Presently it has become the third busiest airport in the Dominican Republic, only being surpassed by the airports of Santo Domingo and Punta Cana.

The airport served more than 1 million passengers in 2007. While the passenger movements is increasing, the traffic operations is increasing as well, adding more frequencies and more new destinations.[2]

JetBlue Airways increased its operations by 4 flights per day and a charter 3 or 5 days in the season. Relative to 2006, JetBlue increased its movements in Cibao International by 2 more flights.Search date December 22

[edit] Airlines and destinations

[edit] International terminal

The airport's main terminal (international flights) has six gates (B1-B6)[10]. Three of these gates provide boarding docks (B4-B6). It is located between the domestic terminal and the cargo terminal. It has all of the facilities of a modern airport. Future expansion of this airport is being discussed which would include additional gates and baggage handling areas as well as expanding the taxiway.

JetBlue Airways at Cibao Airport arriving from New York City
JetBlue Airways at Cibao Airport arriving from New York City

American Airlines is the largest carrier at this airport and operates between up to six flights a day. They currently have two daily flights to New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, and two daily flights to Miami International Airport and one daily flight to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. [11]

JetBlue Airways is another major carrier at this airport, with a daily flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport, however seasonally two more flights are added. JetBlue started its operations to Boston´s Logan International Airport in December with daily "holiday shuttle" flight that will operate through the middle of January as seasonal route. JetBlue also is studying the possibility of a new flight to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport by the summer this year.[12] In addition to Jet Blue, Continental Airlines operates flights between Santiago and Newark Liberty International Airport and Delta Air Lines operates daily flights between Santiago and New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. In December 2006 Delta had planned to start service from Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, however, the service never launched, but now they will begins again the route with a daily flight starting in December 20. Delta will end the service to New York in September 2008. [4] [13]

Copa Airlines, Panama's flag carrier has scheduled flights to Panama City since July 15, 2006, with five weekly flights utillizing an Embraer ERJ-190. Santiago de los Caballeros was the second city added by Copa in the Dominican Republic. Copa also serves Punta Cana since July 15, 2007 in addition to Santo Domingo.

International destinations

Regular scheduled

Charter scheduled

Sources:

[edit] Domestic terminal

The airport's domestic terminal, called too as General Aviation, has Three gates, (A1 to A3), all without boarding bridges, and it's located next to the international terminal. It is used for domestic flights and charter flights.

Caribair is the mayor domestic carrier, flying to all airports throughout the country, offering both charter and scheduled commercial flights. Caribair also has international flights from this terminal to destinations such as Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haitien and Santiago de Cuba.

Pan Am World Airways Dominicana will reopen a hub in Cibao International to fly to Port au Prince, Aguadilla and San Juan from the international terminal. From this terminal Pan Am will fly to/from Santo Domingo on scheduled flights and to Punta Cana on a charter schedule.

Domestic destinations

Private carriers

  • Private Wings (Teterboro (New Jersey), Hartford (Connecticut), Wilmington (Delaware), Richmond (Virginia), Baltimore (Maryland), Houston-Hobby (Texas), San Pedro Sula (Honduras), Allentown (Pennsylvania), Fort Lauderdale (Florida), Oklahoma City-Wiley Post, Miami (Florida), Orlando (Florida))
  • Agape Flights (Sarasota, Cap Haitien, Exuma, Santo Domingo, Providenciales, West Palm Beach, Port au Prince)
  • Air America Inc. (San Juan-Isla Grande)
  • Air 4 Aviation (Houston-Hobby)
  • National Jets (Fort Lauderdale)
  • Infra Limited SE (San Juan)
  • Blue Sky Aviation Group Inc. (Varadero, St. Lucia, Antigua, Fort Lauderdale, Los Cabos (MX), Kendall-Tamiami)
  • MaxFly Aviation Inc. (Santo Domingo, Providenciales')
  • Blue Sky Aviation (Fort Lauderdale-Executive, Miami, Santo Domingo-La Isabela)
  • Russell Apparel (Alexander City (Alabama), Key West)
  • PH Aviation (Wilmington, Santo Domingo)
  • TAG Aviation (Fort Lauderdale, New York-JFK, Santo Domingo)
  • Meregrass Inc. (Oakland, Punta Cana)
  • Phaeton Aviation Inc. (Winston-Salem, Wilmington)
  • Air Sterling (Republic, NY)
  • Family Office Financial Services (Philadelphia, Providenciales)

[edit] Cargo terminal

The airport has a cargo terminal with four gates ( C1 to C4) for cargo carriers such as Amerijet, Cargo Logistic. These cargo carriers have regular flights from Santiago to the United States and other Caribbean islands including Saint Martin and The Bahamas and also to many domestic cargo destinations like Santo Domingo, Costanza and others.

Amerijet is the major cargo carrier at the airport with many flights to Miami, Port-au-Prince, St. Kitts, Santo Domingo, and other neighboring islands. It has regular weekly direct flights to Miami and Santo Domingo and to others destinations only on Sunday.

Cargo carriers

Amerijet departing to MIA
Amerijet departing to MIA
  • Ameriflight (Aguadilla, Providenciales, San Juan)
  • Amerijet (Miami, Port-au-Prince, Santo Domingo, Grenada, Antigua, St. Vincent, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Bridgetown, Fort de France, Georgetown, Aruba, Barcelona (VE), Puerto Plata [seasonal], Kingston, Port of Spain, Curacao, Caracas, San Salvador, San Pedro Sula, Las Piedras (VE), Maracaibo)
    • Amerijet operated by Caribe Trans (Santo Domingo)
  • Arrow Air (Miami, Santo Domingo) [9][14]
  • Contract Air Cargo (Providenciales, Miami-Opa Locka, Santo Domingo, Aguadilla, South Caicos)
  • Corporate Air (Aguadilla, Providenciales, San Juan [seasonal], Santo Domingo)
  • IBC Airways (St. Thomas, West Palm Beach)
  • Mountain Air Cargo (Aguadilla, Providenciales)
  • Merlin Express (San Juan, Aguadilla, Providenciales)
  • Missionary Flights (Cap Haitien, Exuma, St. Lucia, Providenciales, Puerto Plata)
  • Skyway Enterprises (Aguadilla, Providenciales, San Juan)
  • Volga-Dnepr (Madrid-Barajas) seasonal

Others

[edit] Incidents and Accidents

Although no fatal accidents have occurred at the airport, however a few incidents have taken place:

  • December 20, 2003, Continental Airlines flight 850 to Newark was departing at its scheduled departure time, 8:30am, and just a few minutes before take-off the crew reported a problem with the aircraft's air-conditioning system. The aircraft had to return from the Runway 11 to the main Terminal for reparation of the system. This flight departed 2 hours after scheduled departure, at 10:50am.
  • October 31st, 2005, American Airlines flight 1774 bound for New York encountered engine problem 45 minutes after takeoff. The flight returned to the airport after the crew smelled smoke in the main cabin and many heard noise emitting from the engines. There were no injuries.
  • September 2006, American Airlines flight 2054 was scheduled to depart at 4:11pm to New York, but strong winds caused an object to crash into the cockpit window causing it to shatter. The airline postponed the flight until 7:30am the following day.
Continental's Boeing 777-200 departing to EWR in Runway 11
Continental's Boeing 777-200 departing to EWR in Runway 11
  • October 30, 2007, American Airlines flight 1892 to New York was cancelled due a problem with one of its engines and because of the weather. Passengers waited for other AA's flights the next day because this Airbus A300 could not fly for 2 days. It remained in STI for about 3 days due to repairs by AA's personnel.

The Airbus landed at Cibao International on time as AA1889 and departed three days after as AA9621.[15]

  • March 4, 2008, Delta Air Lines flight 314 to New York, had a problem with a principal cabin's window, that had broken, the flight had to be cancelled, and the plane departed back to JFK the next day in the late afternoon as DL9898.

[edit] See also

[edit] Former destinations

  • North American Airlines (Discontinued) operated flights to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport
  • Aeromar Lineas Aereas Dominicanas (Discontinued) operated flights to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport
  • Caribbean Sun Airlines (Discontinued) operated regular flights to San Juan and charter flights to Antigua.
  • Pan Am World Airways (Discontinued) operated flights to Newark and San Juan
  • Delta Airlines operated flights to Atlanta [to restarts in December 20]
  • Dominair (Discontinued) operated fligths to Port Au Prince and San Juan

[18]

[edit] New Destinations

  • Air Dominicana is starting operations here in July to New York-JFK, the airline spects to have a Secundary hub in this airport by the end of this year. [19]

[edit] Rail system

A light metro rail system has been proposed to link the airport and the city of Santiago. This rail service will benefit residents and visitors due to the economic impact it will have in reducing the transportation costs between the airport and the city. The construction of this major project is scheduled to begin in early 2008, and it will commence service by the end 2009.

[edit] Military

This airport also serves as the northern air base for the Dominican Air Force, however, mainly as a support facility. Presently there are no military aircraft stationed at this airport.

[edit] External links

Dominican Republic Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ El Caribe and Missant (January 12, 2008). JetBlue comments about new routes to Florida and Boston. Aviacion Civil Dominicana/El Caribe. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  2. ^ JetBlue and DR1.com/forums (March 8, 2004). JetBlue operations in STI. DR1.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  3. ^ a b RaInZ/ACD (November 20, 2007). Aeropuerto Cibao - Expancion del Runway 11. Aviacion Civil Dominicana ACD. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  4. ^ a b c Airline route news (March 25, 2008). Delta Air Lines begins service to Atlanta on December 20. Airline Route News in Dominican Republic. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  5. ^ a b c d Departamento Aeroportuario (June 12, 2007). Departamento Aeroportuario - Estadisticas. Departamento Aeroportuario Dominicano. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  6. ^ Migssant/ACD (March 15, 2008). Parte Oeste Aeropuerto Cibao - Expancion de la Terminal 1. Aviacion Civil Dominicana ACD. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  7. ^ AIC (March 20, 2008). Runway 11 expansion - One of the most moderns runways in the country. Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao (msnusers). Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  8. ^ AIP/AIS Dominicana (March 1, 2008). Diagrama Aeroportuario - Direccion de Navegacion Aerea. IDAC Instituto Dominicano de Aviacion Civil. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  9. ^ Prensa Española (April 15, 2008). Air Dominicana empieza a volar en Mayo 2. Aviacion Civil Dominicana (msnusers). Retrieved on 2008-04-15.
  10. ^ IDAC (March 1, 2008). Ramps Map STI. AIP Dominicana (IDAC). Retrieved on 2008-04-26.
  11. ^ ChezSant (February 26, 2008). Horario Aeropuerto Santiago. Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao (msnusers). Retrieved on 2008-03-17.
  12. ^ Miguel Ponce (January 12, 2008). Estudian Apertura de Nuevos Vuelos a Santiago. Periodico El Caribe. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  13. ^ DR1 Forums (March 19, 2008). Delta will stop flying Santiago-JFK. DR1.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  14. ^ Roque Ferreira/El Caribe (October 24, 2007). AIC Aumentara vuelos. Periodico El Caribe. Retrieved on 2007-12-06.
  15. ^ FlightStats (November 1, 2007). Flight AAL 9621. FlightStats/MDST. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  16. ^ Franklin Cordero (February 17, 2008). Caribair Britten N Islander Crash in La Romana. El Caribe. Retrieved on 2008-03-18.
  17. ^ FlightStats (February 9, 2008). Eagle flight 5031 diverted to PUJ/cancelled. FlightStats STI/SJU. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  18. ^ Airline route news/ (June 25, 2002). Schedule at Cibao Intl on June 2002. DR1.com Dominican Republic. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
  19. ^ El Caribe (March 24, 2008). Air Dominicana to open Routes to JFK from three airports in DR. Periodico El Caribe. Retrieved on 2008-03-25.
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