DR airline authorities suspend PAWA Dominicana’s operations
PAWA Dominicana has been grounded for 90 days. (Credit: Wikipedia)
The Dominican Republic’s Civil Aviation Board has suspended the operation of Santo Domingo-based PAWA Dominicana, which on late Sunday continued to negotiate with the regulatory body to reconsider its decision.
In a brief statement, the carrier, which began offering service between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in October 2016, did not offer details as to why it has been grounded.
However, according to published reports, the Dominican Republic’s Civil Aviation Board suspended the carrier’s operations for 90 days for non-payment of aeronautical and airport fees and services. In its resolution, the Board gave the airline 10 days to defend itself.
“The decision of the Civil Aviation Board to suspend PAWA Dominicana’s operations far from supporting the development of commercial aviation in the Dominican Republic, harms the growth of the industry and affects thousands of our passengers to whom we want to provide the best possible service,” PAWA executive said in a statement.
“PAWA Dominicana has always recognized its obligations with all the authorities and to be able to fulfill them we must be able to continue flying, so we asked the President of the Dominican Republic Danilo Medina-Sánchez and the Board of Directors of the Civil Aviation Board to reconsider this decision and that we support each other so that our country can enjoy a stable and efficient Dominican airline,” the carrier added.
The carrier is seeking the reversal of the suspension, to be able to address the needs of passengers who had booked flights to travel in coming days.
On its website, PAWA Dominicana informed passengers that due to the suspension, it will process refunds for passengers within 21 to 30 business days, per the passenger’s request.
