The career of an airline transport pilot can be one of the best-paid professional careers within the middle class of any country. Because of this, many countries have protectionist policies for their airline pilot positions. In our region of the Americas, the best-known case is Mexico, which has one of the strictest restrictions in this regard, while the U.S. has one of the most relaxed. Our country has a restriction similar to most other countries in the Americas, although it allows for certain exceptions to the law. Given the rapid growth of Dominican aviation, it is important that we revisit this legal concept.
In the case of the Dominican Republic, this matter is regulated by Articles 120–123 of Civil Aviation Law No. 491-06 (and its amendments), which state that “all aeronautical personnel described in this section must be Dominican, except for those providing services to foreign operators” (Art. 120, Law No. 491-06). This includes not only pilots, but also mechanics, air traffic controllers, inspectors, flight operations officers, dispatchers, and all other crew members (Art. 1, Definitions, Law No. 491-06). Articles 121, 122, and 123 define short-term exceptions to this rule, where the director of IDAC (Dominican Civil Aviation Institute) may grant temporary permits for foreigners to train Dominican personnel in these positions.
At first glance, this regulatory philosophy may seem like a good idea to protect national jobs from foreign competition and ensure that companies focus on hiring and training Dominicans. The problem arises when we want to rapidly grow the industry, as has happened in recent years. Companies in the aviation sector are generally large multinationals that move specialized personnel from country to country to support the growth of local projects. This is the case with the largest airline in Latin America, LATAM Airlines.
LATAM began as a Chilean company in 1932 under the name Línea Aérea Nacional (LAN). For much of its history, it was a state-owned enterprise, but in the late 1980s it became a private company structured as a corporation. Chile has one of the most liberal legislations on the continent regarding foreign investment in the aviation industry, as well as permitting foreign workers in its aviation sector (this writer began their airline pilot career at LAN Cargo in 2011). This has helped Chile develop the most advanced commercial aviation sector in Latin America, becoming a benchmark in all areas of the aviation industry—from aerospace engineering to the training of pilots, mechanics, dispatchers, and other technical staff. Since its privatization in 1989, LAN has looked abroad for growth. Later, Scandinavian Airlines purchased 49% of LAN, aiding in its rapid development.
In 1998, LAN signed a cooperation agreement to establish a large maintenance base with Germany’s Lufthansa in Santiago, Chile. In 2002, LAN began its international expansion with LAN Peru and LAN Ecuador, and in 2004 with LAN Dominicana (a project that lasted only a short time due to American Airlines’ interdiction). In 2012, LAN launched its most aggressive international expansion by acquiring TAM Brazil and transforming into the LATAM Airlines conglomerate. This made the company one of the world’s largest airlines, with over 38,000 employees, 160+ aircraft, and more than $5 billion in annual gross revenue.
Another great example of rapid development in the region is Panama’s Copa Airlines, which also has a legal framework conducive to international expansion. The company employs pilots and technicians from all over the world and takes advantage of foreign investment to support its growth. With over 85 Boeing 737 aircraft and more than 9,500 employees, Copa is another example of regional success.
This brings us back to the Dominican Republic, where the national aviation industry has entered an important expansion phase over the last 5–7 years. The creation of companies like Arajet and Skyhigh Dominicana has led to an exponential increase in job opportunities for aviation technicians in the country. Adding projects like the new Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) station at Punta Cana International Airport and the DULUS project of the Dominican Air Force (which could be the beginning of an aircraft and parts manufacturing industry), we are looking at a huge opportunity for expansion in the country.
How can we protect local jobs while attracting foreign investment and facilitating knowledge exchange?
Dominican law attempts to balance two fundamental concepts:
1. The acquisition of technical knowledge by Dominicans through foreign experience.
2. The protection of national employment against an oversaturation of foreign workers.
Let’s explore the first condition—knowledge acquisition: According to Article 121, the entry of foreign personnel is allowed when “there are no adequately qualified nationals” and only “for the time strictly necessary to train and prepare Dominican technical personnel in the relevant specialties.”
But how long does it take to train an aviation technician? The answer depends on the type of function, level of responsibility, and required experience. In this sector, experience is key: for example, pilots keep detailed records of their flight hours and the roles they have held (first officer, captain, instructor, etc.). That’s why lawmakers leave it up to IDAC to determine the time required for knowledge transfer.
On reciprocity and national protection
Article 120 is clear: aeronautical personnel must be Dominican. The exceptions are based on reciprocity, meaning that only technicians from countries where Dominicans are also allowed to work are accepted. This is common in other protected professions.
Thus, two conditions must be met to hire foreign technical personnel:
– They must serve an instructional role and possess greater experience.
– They must come from countries that offer reciprocity to Dominican technicians.
Even in these cases, their stay must be temporary. However, this requires IDAC to have up-to-date knowledge of each country’s laws—a complex task. Furthermore, individuals cannot be held accountable for their home countries’ laws. And of course, there’s the possibility that companies (or the government) may need technicians from countries that do not have reciprocity with the Dominican Republic—thus losing the chance to advance educationally due to a mere legal technicality.
The human factor
It is crucial to consider the human factor (of utmost importance in modern aviation): relocating to another country poses enormous challenges for a professional and their family. Many Dominicans have lived this reality firsthand, emigrating due to a lack of local opportunities. We must ask ourselves: Do we want to attract the best, or just the minimally necessary? The answer will depend on our national goals.
The Dominican Republic is still in an early stage in terms of aviation training. We do not yet have educational centers capable of meeting, at the required speed, the demand for qualified technicians—especially aircraft mechanics. In other words, investment is outpacing education. Our goal should be to maintain momentum and create more opportunities for Dominicans in the sector. To achieve this, attracting more investment—both national and international—is essential.
But how do other countries protect their national workers? (We’ll focus on pilots)
In the cases of the U.S. and Chile (two of the most advanced aviation industries in the hemisphere), this protection is achieved through unions. Chile experienced exponential civil aviation growth during the early 2000s with the rapid expansion of its flagship airline, LAN Airlines. LAN negotiated with the union to set a 10% cap on foreign personnel needed for its expansion (note that this was not about trainers for Chileans, since Chile has always been one of the most advanced countries in aviation education).
The same happened in the U.S. in recent years, when the long-anticipated pilot shortage arrived—a turning point in the U.S. aviation industry. A mix of pilot retirements and rapid airline expansion led to a shortage of qualified pilots. The U.S., through its pilot unions, has established pathways like the E-3 visa (for Australians, Chileans, and Spaniards) and the EB-2 visa for aviation professionals worldwide. National workforce protection is maintained through annual union approvals of how many foreign nationals a company can hire to fill staffing gaps (again, not just for training roles, since the U.S. has some of the best-trained personnel in the world).
Proposal for Dominican Republic
Based on the above, it is clear that we must make changes to Dominican laws and regulations to encourage foreign investment and allow the inflow of knowledge—not only with the goal of training Dominican personnel, but also to enable those who wish to build their careers and raise their families in the country to do so.
Therefore, we propose more modern strategies in this regard:
1. Amend Dominican aviation law and regulations to ease the entry of foreign knowledge and investment.
2. Follow the U.S. and Chilean model, where the protection of local labor is delegated to unions. In the Dominican Republic, since we lack pilot unions, we propose the creation of a college of pilots (similar to professional organizations in the U.S. like medical boards for doctors and bar associations for lawyers) that performs this role, just as in Chile and the U.S. is done by unions.
Since we are talking about making changes to labor protections that could be perceived as a loss of rights, it is important that the process be carried out transparently and with the consensus of the various interested groups. To this end, we propose the creation of working groups representing the labor, business, and governmental sectors.
These simple changes to the Dominican regulatory philosophy could open the door to more sustainable growth in our civil aviation sector—a growth not only in jobs but also in education, which could benefit other industries through this kind of openness. We can choose to remain in a small, protectionist aviation model—or we can pursue a constantly growing aviation sector on the path to becoming a regional leader.
