Las Américas International Airport suffers runway lighting system failure
A failure in the lighting system of the runway of the Santo Domingo international airport forced to divert at least five international flights.
The lighting system was out for 7 to 11 pm approximately and affected flights from San Juan, Madrid, San Cristóbal y Nieves, New York, and Washington.
The cause of the failure in the lighting system is under investigation, but “apparently it is caused by vandalism”, Luis José López, spokesman for the Dominican Airports Siglo XXI (Aerodom) operating company.
The airport in the Dominican capital has an emergency lighting system but is waiting for authorization from the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC) to activate it.
Due to the impossibility of landing in Santo Domingo, the San Juan flight chose to return to Puerto Rico, the Madrid one landed in Punta Cana (east), and the San Cristóbal y Nieves flight, in La Romana (east), according to López.
According to data from aircraft tracking websites, flights from the United States continue to fly over Dominican airspace.