Cibao International Airport

Cibao International Airport(Spanish:Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao) (IATA:STI,ICAO:MDST), also known as Santiago Airport, is located inSantiago de los Caballeros,Dominican Republic's second-largest city. It is thecountry's third-busiest airportby passenger traffic and aircraft movements, afterPunta Cana International AirportandLas Américas International Airport.Since its inauguration, in terms of passenger traffic, Cibao International has been projected to become one of the busiest airports in the country.Presently it has become the third-busiest airport in the Dominican Republic, only being surpassed by the airports ofPunta CanaandSanto Domingo.The airport served more than 1,900,000 passengers in 2021.

Cibao International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao
IATA:STI ICAO:MDST
Summary
Airport type	Private
Owner/Operator	Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao S.A.
Serves	Santiago de los Caballeros
Location	LiceyinSantiago Province,Dominican Republic
ElevationAMSL	565 ft / 172 m
Coordinates	19°24′22″N070°36′17″W
Website	Aeropuerto Cibao
Map
MDST Location of airport in the Dominican Republic
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 (2023)
Total Passengers 2,021,024 Aircraft Operations 14,737 Based Aircraft 14
Source:Cargo Terminal Info

The airport is located 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) southeast of Santiago City's center.

The air terminal mainly serves Dominicans residing in theUnited States,theTurks and Caicos Islands,andPuerto Rico,as well as Haitians residing in theCibaoRegion. Recently many tourists and missionary workers are using Cibao International as a gateway to the Dominican Republic.

JetBlueis the primary international operator, with up to twenty daily flights to New York–JFK, Newark, and Boston. The airline replaced flights fromAmerican Airlines,and some slots from other airlines flying to the United States of America.

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 ofJosé Armando Bermúdez(president), Víctor 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.

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 byAmerican Eagle.

In May 2002,Aeromar Líneas Aéreas Dominicanasmade the first direct flight from Santiago toJFK Airportin New York. Later that monthAmerican AirlinesandNorth American Airlinesbegan direct flights to New York, Miami, and San Juan. A few months laterContinental Airlinesbegan direct flights fromNewark.This was followed by direct service byJetBlue AirwaysandDelta Air Lines,both from New York. Aeromar initiated Santiago as its secondary hub, after Las Américas International Airport.

In 2003, Aeromar Líneas Aéreas Dominicanas stopped their flights into Santiago after the airline ceased operations.

By the end of 2005, the airport's operator began one of the biggest expansions for this airport. They expanded the customs hall and rebuilt the west and east sides of the terminal. The terminal saw the addition of a second floor. This expansion was finalized in 2006. The runway's 400-meter (1,300 ft) expansion is currently in folders, but there is no scheduled date to begin or conclude this expansion yet.

In April 2008, Cibao International became the first airport in the country to eliminate fees for private planes, making it possible to increase tourism in the region.

In June 2008, Continental Airlines announced the discontinuation of their services to Santiago until September 3. Delta Air Lines announced new service to Atlanta, starting on December 20, 2008, and the resuming of the New York route on December 13, 2008.

On January 9, 2009,Spirit Airlinesannounced operations to Santiago from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, starting on June 21, 2009.

In 2010, the airport recovered passenger movements from the previous year, handling more than 900,000. It also became the third busiest airport by passengers in the country, having already ranked number three in aircraft operations. Also, in 2010, regular domestic routes from Santiago operated by Aerolineas Mas, Air Century, Caribair and VolAir were established. Aerolineas Mas became the strongest domestic airline in the airport and started operating Santiago's Airport as a Focus City Destination.

March 14, 2011, Aerolíneas Mas, Air Century, Vol Air and Caribair all cancelled their domestic flights. The domestic terminal was then used for private charter flights.

On April 1, 2013, American Airlines stopped their direct flight to New York's JFK Airport.

In December 2019, there were plans byFrontier Airlinesto operate flights fromNewark,New Jersey, to Santiago. However, their plans to operate the EWR-STI route were cancelled due to airport restrictions. That route was successful, however, as JetBlue was operating direct flights on the EWR-STI route as of October 2022.

Up until January 2020, the airport operated on private land which wasn't paid to the original owners; the current administration was plagued with multiple lawsuits, with the lower courts siding with the landowners. The case is currently in the Supreme Court.

Infrastructure

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

The airport's owners are planning to expand the runway and the construction of the new taxiway next to the runway by the next year.

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 for long-haul flights from Europe.

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.

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)
Runway11	MALSR	Green	PAPI 4	None	Yellow-Blue	White-Blue	Red	None	White
Runway 29		Green	PAPI 4	None	Yellow-Blue	White-Blue	Red	Yellow-White	White

Airport expansion

Airport's new terminal

The Cibao International Airport is currently under renovation. The works include the extension of the aircraft movement and parking platform, amplification of the runway by about 380 meters to accommodate aircraft with greater capacity and range. In addition, it announced important improvements to the passenger terminal, enhancing its comfort and capacity, including new access roads. The Cibao International Airport technical team estimates that the renovation process will be finished in 2026.

The design work was carried out byLuis Vidal + Architects,and it will be built under the direction of the Airport's technical team. In the remodeling, $300 million will be invested with the aim of doubling the capacity of the terminal, from where two million people are transferred each year. In addition, it will serve as cargo transport to more than 25 million pounds annually.

This new terminal will have sufficient capacity to meet current and future demand over the next twenty years, offering an optimum level of service for all its users.

Terminals

International terminal

The airport's main terminal (international) has six gates (B1-B6).Five of these gates provide boarding docks (B1-B2/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. Recently gates B1 and B2 received boarding docks leaving gate B3 for smaller aircraft.JetBlue Airwaysis currently the largest carrier at the airport.

Domestic terminal

The airport's domestic terminal, also called the General Aviation hall, has three stands (A1 to A3), and is located next to the international terminal. It was used for domestic flights and is now used for charter private flights.Aerolineas Maswas currently the major domestic airline in this Airport. The airline operated flights to Santo Domingo-JBQ and Port-au-Prince, and with plans to operate regularly to Punta Cana, Aerolineas Mas had made of this airport its Focus City.Air Centuryceased operations on regular domestic flights from/to Santo Domingo-JBQ, Punta Cana and Puerto Plata, operating all their flights through the Domestic Terminal. All domestic flights are no longer available at this Dominican airport. The international air terminal is the only terminal in use.

Military

This airport also served 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.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Air Europa	Madrid
American Airlines	Miami
Arajet	Medellín–JMC
Caicos Express Airways	Providenciales
Copa Airlines	Panama City–Tocumen(ends January 9, 2025)
Delta Air Lines	New York–JFK
Frontier Airlines	San Juan
InterCaribbean Airways	Providenciales
JetBlue	Boston,Newark,New York–JFK,Orlando,San Juan
Sky High	Seasonal:Miami
Spirit Airlines	Fort Lauderdale
United Airlines	Newark

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Amerijet International	Miami,Puerto Plata
Air Cargo Carriers	Aguadilla,San Juan,Santo Domingo-Las Americas
IBC Airways	Miami

Statistics

Passenger traffic

Annual passenger traffic at STI airport. SeeWikidata query.

Top International Routes

Busiest International Routes from STI (2021)

Rank	City	Passengers	Carriers
1	New York - JFK	945,871	Delta Air Lines,JetBlue
2	Newark	497,243	JetBlue,United Airlines
3	Miami	156,529	American Airlines
4	Boston	143,060	JetBlue
5	Fort Lauderdale	97,976	Spirit Airlines

Incidents and accidents

• February 7, 2008, ACaribairflight crashed close toLa Romana,when its engines stopped. There were no fatalities, but the pilot had some injuries. The aircraft was aBritten Norman IslanderBN-2A, registered as HI-653CA, and had departed on a flight toPunta Cana International AirportviaLa Romana International Airportat 6 pm.

See also

• List of the busiest airports in Dominican Republic
• List of the busiest airports in the Caribbean

External links

• Cibao International Airport website(in Spanish)
• Live Tracker MDST
  • Aerial View Tracker MDST
• Video of Cibao Intl Aircraft movements
• Picture of CO Boeing 777 in STINote: link this picture to others of the same airport
• Aeropuerto Cibao - Departamento Aeroportuario
• Airport Data for STI
• Dominican Republic Search Engine
• Fly Dominican Republic/Dominican Republic Pilots Guide
• Weather Informationat NOAA