Puerto Plata airport reopens after completion of renovations

Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (Aerodom) reported the reopening of the Gregorio Luperón International Airport in Puerto Plata, after successfully completing the second phase of the repair and remodeling works carried out on the terminal’s runway.

With the conclusion of the second phase of the works, which involved a total investment of more than US$4.5 million, the slabs of the central section of the runway were leveled, new approach lights were installed, new horizontal signage was placed, among other works with the purpose of extending the useful life of the infrastructure.

A private flight from Miami landed at the airport at 7:24 a.m., inaugurating the renovated runway. JetBlue flight 627 from New York City, as well as American Airlines flight 2273 from Miami, among other scheduled operations, are also expected to arrive at the airport.

The runway was closed to all air traffic for 10 days to allow for a major construction project that included demolition of the deteriorated runway slabs to their full depth, removal of granular material and placement of new slabs 40 centimeters deep.

The area worked on in the second phase contemplated an extension of 270 linear meters by 24 meters wide, which added to the intervention of the first phase implied a total extension of 570 linear meters of runway intervened, increasing its ACN/PCN resistance, which allows to receive without restriction aircraft of greater weight and wingspan.

Also, as part of the project, new horizontal signage was installed throughout the runway, new thresholds were moved to comply with international regulations, and new state-of-the-art visual aids were installed at both runway headlands (PAPI approach lights), which were installed by Caribe Services.

The major project was coordinated by Aerodom’s Technical Management, executed by the contractor Prodicon, under the supervision of Epsa Labco, with a team of more than 300 workers, coordinated by 25 engineers and more than 50 technicians who validated quality at all times. It involved the installation of two mobile concrete plants inside the airport terminal with a capacity of 50 cubic meters per hour.

This remodeling project is part of the commitment to maintain the highest operational safety standards of the airports belonging to the VINCI Airports network, operated by Aerodom, located in Santo Domingo, Puerto Plata, Barahona and Samaná.