Although the measures announced by the Ministry of Public Health at the International Airport of the Americas (AILA) on social distancing and congestion in the area of passenger arrival do not apply.
At the outside of the terminal, at the passenger exit, a large number of people could be witnessed this Friday betting in the vicinity waiting for the arrival of relatives to look for them.
People came, walked almost together, and stood behind the metal fences waiting for their relatives to leave the customs room to receive them, amid noises and applause.
No National Police patrols were observed inspecting the vehicles either, As had been announced, although some motorized units patrolled the perimeter of Route 66 in the form of simple surveillance in the face of the increase in the arrival of flights and passengers.
With the new preventive measures, health authorities seek to monitor the progress of the coronavirus at the airport.
While passengers departing abroad are required to maintain social distance, wear masks and disinfect their hands before entering the migration lounges.
They must also go through the thermal cameras installed in the access area at the terminal where his body temperature is measured, to each of the passengers to ensure that they do not have a high fever or other symptoms related to VOCID-19.
To demand compliance with the measures, the health authorities established in the personal terminal of the National Police, the Tourist Security Corps (CESTUR), security of the company Dominican Airports (XXI Aerodom) and the Specialized Corps of Airport and Civil Aviation Security (CESAC).
With regard to people who do not respect the protocol, the director of communications of Aerodom, Luis López Mena, complained that the measures are not yet being applied rigorously.
“We continue to see families with 5 and 6 people coming from the city to receive a single passenger arriving from abroad, “said López Mena.
He also expressed the need to be much stricter in enforcing the measures on the part of the authorities so that people are aware of the danger of contracting COVID-19.
As for the violation of social distancing, he has indicated that it is difficult to keep distance because of the excessive number of people who arrive every day.
According to data provided by the company that operates the company six of the country’s major airports, it is expected that this Christmas will visit this Dominican Republic about 235 thousand passengers.
Of this figure 86% of travelers are expected to enter the country by AILA.