Last year she began her first assignment as an Ambassador for the Caribbean country of the Dominican Republic when she was posted to Jamaica.

On presenting her credentials to the Governor General, resplendent in white, she announced that she would like to see direct flights between her country and Jamaica that would further a solid bond between the countries.

Yesterday evening the inaugural flight from Santa Domingo touched down in Kingston. Angie Martinez had scored a major accomplishment in her diplomatic career.

In an interview with Our Today, the jubilant ambassador said: “This is a big day for bilateral relations between the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. It is a milestone, truly a game changer. We now have connectivity with direct flights which is the biggest achievement since diplomatic relations was formed between the two countries 58 years ago.”

Arajet will put on two flights a week beginning this December between Kingston and Santo Domingo. A round trip ticket will cost as little as US$265 and the duration of the flight will be one hour and 10 minutes. One flight will be on a Monday, the other on a Friday.

Martinez believes the new flights will be a spur to greater investment, tourism links and commerce between the Dominican Republic and Jamaica but more importantly will bring its people closer together.

“How can we know each other, love each other if we are so apart? We have remained apart for so many years despite us only being 729 kilometres away. I have always said that I could get to my homeland quicker by swimming there rather than air travel. It was taking 20 hours to get to the Dominican Republic.

“The cost of a one way ticket to Jamaica was US$880. In many instances it was as much as US$1,200 round trip to get to a sister country that is just one hour away. That had to change. My goal is to make our countries closer and stronger and the first step was to have viable air connectivity. After today, we have established a new era  for the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. It is a new chapter, a better chapter.”

The Dominican Republic’s Ambassador to Jamaica is elated with this new travel arrangement which, for her, began as a dream which she regarded as a necessity. She recounts that the process was fraught with barriers, particularly a preponderance of red tape and agreements to be signed. It could be disheartening, but she persevered. 

“For one year, our team at the Embassy worked extremely hard with Jamaican authorities, Dominican Republic government officials, Jamaica’s civil aviation chiefs, the minister of transport. The Ministry of Tourism, under Ed Bartlett, was most helpful and played a major role in getting this done. The Ministry of  Industry, Investment and Commerce saw the opportunity for better trade between our countries,” said Martinez. 

Arajet is a low-cost carrier. The fare breaks down as US$60 for the ticket and the remaining $205 is taxes. It is now quicker and cheaper to get to the Dominican Republic than it is to Miami. In fact, it is quicker to jump on that flight than it is to drive to Ocho Rios in St Ann from Kingston.  

You can have a Mangu (crushed plantains) breakfast in the Dominican Republic and jerk chicken for lunch in Jamaica! 

Martinez continued: “In 20 years time, more Jamaicans will be speaking fluent Spanish. These new flights will allow us to facilitate more cultural exchanges. We are now looking at bringing baseball training clinics to Jamaica. We can also do scientific and academic exchanges.

“With the trip just being a little over an hour we can encourage more entrepreneurs and generate more trade. I look forward to seeing more people from the Dominican Republic doing business here and more Jamaicans trading in the Dominican Republic. The potential in Jamaica is endless and I can see it. We have to find a way to establish the mechanism to make it happen.

“Before we were so far apart, which is a problem across the Caribbean.”

In order for these flights to be truly effective, Dominican Republic citizens will need to be able to travel to Jamaica without requiring a visa. There is a need to travel freely across the Caribbean if one is a citizen of the region. Since 2007, Jamaicans can travel to the Dominican Republic with no visa requirement. There should be some reciprocity here.