| Douglas–Charles Airport | |
| Iata: | DOM |
| Icao: | TDPD |
| Type: | Public |
| Owner: | Government of Dominica |
| Operator: | Dominica Air & Sea Ports Authority |
| City-Served: | Marigot and Roseau. |
| Location: | Dominica |
| Elevation-F: | 73 |
| Coordinates: | 15.5469°N -61.3°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Dominica |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Dominica |
| Pushpin Label: | DOM |
| R1-Number: | 09/27 |
| R1-Length-M: | 1756 |
| R1-Surface: | Asphalt |
| Metric-Rwy: | Y |
| Footnotes: | Source: WAD[1] Google Maps[2] SkyVector[3] |
Douglas–Charles Airport, formerly known as Melville Hall Airport, is an airport located on the northeast coast of Dominica, 2miles northwest of Marigot. It is about one hour away from the second largest city Portsmouth. It is one of only two airports in the island nation of Dominica, the other being Canefield Airport located three miles (5 km) northeast of Roseau.
The Melville Hall area was chosen as the site for Dominica's main airport in 1944, for it was the only place on the island with extensive flat land.[4] It was only after the completion of the Cross-Country Roadway connection from Belles to Marigot, in 1958, that work on the airport began.[4] [5] The facility opened on 22 November 1961, and was first served by Douglas DC-3 Dakotas operated by BWIA.[5]
Three airlines were operating scheduled passenger service with turboprop aircraft into the airport in late 1979 including Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) with Hawker Siddeley HS 748 flights nonstop from Antigua, Fort de France, Pointe a Pitre and St. Lucia as well as direct, no change of plane HS 748 flights from Barbados, Grenada, Port of Spain and St. Vincent; Air Martinique with nonstop Fokker F27 service from Fort de France; and Air Guadeloupe with nonstop de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter service from Pointe a Pitre.[6]
According to the Official Airline Guide (OAG), two airlines were operating scheduled passenger jet service into the Melville Hall Airport in the spring of 1995: Carib Express with nonstop British Aerospace BAe 146-100 jet flights from Barbados, St. Kitts and St. Lucia; and Liberty Airlines with nonstop Boeing 727-200 jet service to St. Kitts and St. Lucia as well as direct, one stop 727 service to Fort Lauderdale.[7] The OAG also lists scheduled passenger service at this same time flown by LIAT into the airport with de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 turboprops nonstop from Antigua, Fort de France, Pointe a Pitre, and St. Maarten as well as direct, no change of plane Dash 8 flights from Anguilla, Port of Spain, St. Lucia, San Juan, PR and Tortola.[8]
In 2006 an airport expansion and upgrade program began which entailed the expansion of the terminal building to include a new departure lounge, customs and immigration section, and check-in area. The runway and apron were also extended and new night landing and navigational aids were installed. These enhancements had an extended completion date of mid-2010.[9]
The first-ever night landing was conducted on 9 August 2010 by Winair.[10] Regular night landings at the airport began on 20 September 2010; the first flight, from LIAT, flew from V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua.[11]
The airport was renamed from Melville Hall Airport to Douglas–Charles Airport on 27 October 2014 in honour of Prime Ministers Rosie Douglas and Pierre Charles.[12]
On 22 July 2021, American Airlines announced a new, twice-weekly nonstop jet service between Miami and Dominica, which began on 8 December 2021.[13] The service is operated by its American Eagle affiliate Embraer 175. This marked the first non-stop commercial service between the mainland United States and Dominica. The initial service operated twice weekly until 10 January 2022, when it increased to thrice weekly. As of 5 April 2022, flights now operate once daily.[14] [15] American Eagle is currently the largest airline at the airport. As of 16 August 2022, the government is in reported talks with American Airlines to increase frequencies to the airport with an extra daily service (Weekends, Mondays, and Wednesdays) from Miami.[16]
American Eagle is now the largest air carrier to serve the airport, with a 36% market share.[17]
Government discussions with other airlines
As of 2021, the government of Dominica was in talks with various airlines—including Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and United Airlines—for new service options to Canada and the northeastern United States.[18] [19] [20] [21]
On 22 May 1989, a BAe 146 flown by Dan Gurney, BAe test pilot, and William Rosquist, BAe 146 Chief Pilot for Aspen Airways, made the first commercial jet landing at Douglas Charles Airport on a sales tour of the Lesser Antilles. On 4 April 2020, an Avianca Airbus A320neo arrived at the airport with medical supplies and equipment from Paramaribo. After offloading the cargo, the aircraft left shortly after for Bogota. The aircraft was the largest airliner to ever land at the airport.[22]
The airport has also handled other airliners and cargo aircraft of similar sizes in the past.
A Canadian North Boeing 737-500, which operated as a charter for a soccer team.
On Monday, 14 October 2013, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 operated by Danish Air Transport in collaboration with Coca-Cola arrived on the island, carrying the FIFA World Cup Trophy.[23]
On Saturday, 2 November 2019, a United States Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III arrived with cargo and other humanitarian equipment.[24]
Amerijet was once a frequent operator at the airport with its Boeing 727-200F, until the airline retired the type in 2018.[25]
On Monday, 17 April 2023, Conviasa operated chartered flights from Caracas with their Embraer E190 aircraft (YV2911 & YV2912) for the Alba Games in Venezuela. This marked the first time an Embraer E190 aircraft arrived at the airport.[26]
On Saturday, 9 September 2023, one of Aurora Anguilla Resort & Gulf Club's Embraer E170 aircraft arrived at the airport as a Men's Senior Football team charter. The team headed to Turks and Caicos to compete in various sporting events. This was the first time an Embraer 170 aircraft arrived at the airport.[27]
Based on a recent report as of 16 August 2022, Venezuelan-based charter airline Sasca[28] (in cooperation with Barbados' Executive Air[29] and Blue Star), will soon begin operating flights in the Eastern Caribbean between Dominica and Barbados, Grenada, St.Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The flights will be operated by Jetstream 31 and Jetstream 32 aircraft.[30]
The Passenger Terminal at the airport houses 10 airline check-in counters,[31] the arrivals and departures area, and 2 Gates. Recently, there was an addition made to the terminal, which added an Executive Lounge that all arriving and departing passengers can utilize. The lounge is full of comforts and services at Douglas Charles Airport of Dominica. Lounge Seating, Complimentary Wi-Fi, Newspaper/ Magazine, Tourism Information and Bookings, Flight Monitors, Cultural Exhibits, Complimentary beverages, Complimentary snacks, Private Rest Rooms, Personalized Meet and Greets, Baggage Assistance, Assisted Immigration and Customs, and Taxi Arrangements.[32] [33] The lounge has many offerings and 3 categories of arrival and departure services. These include:
An In-Lounge Service:
Arrival Services
Departure Services
With the recent commencement of service to Miami operated by American Airlines, a ground-level Passenger gate system was implemented.[34]
Airlines and their respective gates are as follows:
The airport features one 5,761-foot runway. Runway 09 has a 1,158 foot Displaced Threshold due to the rising terrain to the west of the airport, with an available landing distance of 4,603 feet. It's only authorized for visual approaches, and landings at night are prohibited. Runway 27 departures are prohibited.[35] [36]
The Minister of Tourism announced Thursday, 11 May 2023, that the Runway at the Dominica Douglas Charles Airport will be extended. Runway 09 will extend further into the valley to accommodate larger passenger aircraft and a higher Takeoff Weight by the existing Envoy Air service. The extension will be about (180 m) = (+/- 590 ft).[37] [38] [39] The current runway length will be extended from (1756 m - 5761 ft) to (1936 m - 6351 ft). The project is expected to be completed 3 months (November 2023) from the commencement date (August 2023).[40]
American Eagle operates regional jets; Embraer E-Jets. The carrier is currently the only operator serving the airport with Commercial Jetliners.[41]
In the coming months, Dominica will become an Eastern Caribbean Regional hub for Sunrise Airways expansion operations.[42]
| Rank | Destinations (operated by) | Frequency (weekly) | Carriers | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Barbados | 10 | Air Antilles, Caribbean Airlines, InterCaribbean Airways, Liat | |||
| 2 | Miami | 7 | American Eagle | |||
| 3 | 7 | InterCaribbean Airways | ||||
| 4 |  Saint Lucia | 6 | Air Antilles, InterCaribbean Airways | |||
| 5 | 3 | Air Antilles, Winair Air Sunshine | ||||
| 6 | 3 | |||||
| 7 | 3 | Silver Airways | ||||
| 8 | 3 | Air Sunshine | ||||
| 9 |  Antigua and Barbuda | 2 | Liat | |||
| 10 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | Caribbean Airlines |
As countries emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, travel and passenger arrivals have increased. Below are the statistics from Q1 2021 - June 2022.
Q1 Total Stayover Arrivals
The total stayover arrivals in the month of May was 8,050. (Reflecting a 300% increase over the corresponding period in 2021, and a 29% increase versus Q4 of 2021).
May stayover statistics
In May, stayover visitations totaled 4,181, reflective of a 391% increase over the corresponding period in 2021. Notwithstanding the 30% decline over 2019. The USA dominated May arrivals, accounting for 35%.[46]
Y-T-D June 2022 stayover arrivals surpass Full-Year 2021[47]
Dominica's Visitor Arrivals from the US Continue to Rise
Since the inauguration of American Airlines, there has been a significant increase in U.S. visitor arrivals to the island. A total of 2,019 visitor arrivals were recorded in July 2022, the highest on record (dating back to February 2017, when Ross University operated in Dominica).[17]
H1 Stayover Arrivals
| 1 | American Eagle | 13,000 | 33.00% |
|---|
The airport houses the Dominica Outstation of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority.[54]
The airport offers an RNAV approach only on Runway 27. Landings on Runway 09 are strictly visual.