Frontier flights to Dominican Republic via TPA delayed until 2023

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A planned Frontier Airlines route expansion of non-stop flights to the Dominican Republic has stalled. In May, the company announced new flights to multiple destinations in the Caribbean.

According to reports published in the Tampa Bay Business Journal on Thursday said the Denver-based airline had delayed the expansion, with flights to Punta Cana and Santo Domingo pushed back until 2023.

On May 3, TPA and Frontier released statements saying the routes to the Caribbean and others in Latin America would start in June, with flights to Santo Domingo to begin June 30 and flights to Punta Cana starting July 2. The date for Santo Domingo has now come and gone, with TBBJ reporting the flights to D.R. no longer on the table for 2022.

The report in TBBJ contained a response from Frontier spokesperson Jennifer de la Cruz, the company’s director of corporate communications. Their reporting said approval from the Dominican Republic’s government for the flights was still pending.

Each of the routes announced to leave from Tampa International Airport, including to San Juan, Puerto Rico and Montego Bay, Jamaica were to be $99 per non-stop flight.

“We continue to work with our partners in the Dominican Republic to gain necessary route authorities and, pending successful completion of that process, we look forward to commencing service on the routes for the summer 2023 season,” de la Cruz told TBBJ.

TPA representatives told WFLA.com that “Frontier prefers we direct any questions regarding the Dominican Republic delays to Frontier, as the airline will have the most up-to-date info on their government approvals for that route” and did not elaborate further.

“In Tampa, discounted Frontier tickets to Montego Bay and San Juan are available before 11:59 on Thursday for travel between July 6 and Aug. 31. Montego Bay tickets start at $89 and San Juan tickets start at $99, plus baggage and fees,” according to reporting by TBBJ.

Repeated requests for comment to Frontier from WFLA.com remained unanswered by time of publication.