Enrique De Marchena of DMK Abogados, Frank El\u00edas Rainieri, CEO of Grupo Puntacana and Manuel Pietrantoni of Pietrantoni Mendez & Alvarez in San Juan Puerto Rico<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Punta Cana hosted the 12th Annual Congress of the Worldwide Airport Lawyers Association (WALA) on April 28 and 29, 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Congress received more than 100 legal experts in airport matters from the United States, Canada, the European Union, Argentina and Brazil, among others, and was attended by the main public authorities of the airport and aeronautical sector of the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They participated in a panel on the current state of the industry in the country, and the plans for the development of Pedernales as the next tourist destination. The state of the airport industry in the world and in the country was analyzed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The closing remarks were given by Frank Rainieri, Chairman of Grupo Punta Cana, who recounted the beginnings of the Punta Cana International Airport (AIPC), one of the first private international airports in the world, what happened in its approval by 3 different governments in 7 years. He pointed out that the airport industry is complex, and that AIPC interrelates 20 State institutions that have a permanent supervisory task. Gone are the times when the business of airports was the business of the \u201ccronies\u201d of the governments of the day. He indicated that part of AIPS\u2019s success has been that it has always worked with the mantra that the airport is part of the tourism industry that is the hospitality industry. He said that the AIPC is not only a personal and family triumph, it\u00b4s a triumph for the private sector of the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n