Pilots who fly under BasicMed are officially welcome to the number one tourist destination in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic.
Hector Porcella, the acting director general of the Dominican Civil Aviation Authority, responded to a request from Jim Parker of Caribbean Flying Adventures for a formal letter that allows the 66,000 BasicMed pilots in the U.S. to fly to the island nation.
Introduced in 2017, BasicMed is an alternate way for pilots to fly without holding an FAA medical certificate as long as they meet certain requirements.
The Dominican Republic, and most islands in the Caribbean, do not even ask to see a medical certificate upon arrival, according to Parker.
During the 2022 SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo, Porcella told general aviation pilots that “the Dominican Republic is friendly for all pilots and all aircraft, including experimental aircraft. As of today, we are implementing new protocols to make procedures at Dominican airports the most affordable and hassle free of any airport in the Bahamas and Caribbean. We welcome you.”