Haiti-DR Air Link Deal: Cap-Haïtien Airport and Three Dominican Airports Named as First Routes

Reporting on April 19, 2026 confirmed operational details of the Haiti-Dominican Republic airspace reopening agreement announced April 17: the initial routes will connect Cap-Haïtien's Hugo Chavez International Airport in northern Haiti to three Dominican airports, likely including Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo. The air link had been suspended since March 2024 when the Dominican Republic closed its airspace due to escalating gang violence in Haiti. For Cap-Haïtien — Haiti's second-largest city and gateway to the historic Citadelle Laferrière — the deal is particularly significant, as it provides an alternate international connection independent of Port-au-Prince's Toussaint Louverture Airport, which has faced periodic gang threats and operational disruptions. Business groups in both countries welcomed the announcement as a step toward restoring commerce, diaspora travel, and humanitarian logistics. The Dominican Republic has simultaneously been completing construction of a 174-kilometer concrete border wall along the shared frontier to prevent gang spillover while pursuing economic reengagement. Trade between the two nations was valued at approximately $1.8 billion annually before the current crisis, though cross-border commerce had been severely disrupted since 2022.