Dominica is an island nation in the
Windward islands
french: Îles du Vent
, image_name =
, image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.
, image_alt =
, locator_map =
, location = Caribbean Sea Nor ...
in the
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...
archipelago in the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
. Most people arrive in Dominica via
Douglas–Charles Airport
Douglas–Charles Airport , formerly known as Melville Hall Airport, is an airport located on the northeast coast of Dominica, northwest of Marigot. It is about one hour away from the second largest city Portsmouth. It is one of only two air ...
, where most commercial flights to the island land. Dominica also utilizes sea transport and a roadway network.
Airports
There are two regional, and no international airports on the island. The primary airport,
Douglas-Charles Airport (DOM), is on the northeast coast and is about a 45-minute drive from Portsmouth (1 hour from Roseau). The second is
Canefield Airport
The Canefield Airport is an airport on the west coast of the Island country, island nation of Dominica. It is north of Roseau, the capital. Construction began in early 1979 with British funding, shortly after Dominica's independence. The airport ...
(DCF), about 15 minutes from Roseau on the southwest coast. Airlines which serve the Canefield Airport are
Air Antilles
Air Antilles is a French airline based at Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe, France. It is a regional airline operating scheduled and seasonal services in the French Antilles.
History
The airline began operations in Decembe ...
,
Winair
Winair, an abbreviation of Windward Islands Airways International NV, is a government-owned Dutch airline based in Sint Maarten. Founded in 1961 by Georges Greaux and Hippolyte Ledee, It has a fleet of seven aircraft serving ten destinations, ...
using
DHC6-300 Series Twin Otters,
Coastal Air
Founded in 1976 by Michael Foster, Coastal Air Transport is a St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands based airline that provides service to several Caribbean destinations including St. Eustatius, Nevis, Dominica, Anguilla and St. Kitts. Coastal Ai ...
using
Cessna
Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturi ...
aircraft, Anguilla Air Services, Airawak,
VI Airlink
VI Airlink (or Virgin Islands Airlink) is an airline from the British Virgin Islands, with its license issued under the British Overseas Territory's air requirements. It is the only Airline with airplanes registered in the B.V.I. It operates mo ...
, Fly BVI,
SVG Air and many other regional airlines and charters. Douglas-Charles Airport is suitable for limited use of commercial jets because of runway length. Douglas-Charles currently has regular service by
Air Sunshine
Air Sunshine is an airline based in the United States and in Puerto Rico. It operates scheduled service to and from San Juan and Vieques, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Anguilla, Dominica, Sint Maarten, Nevis, St. Kitts, Tortola and Virgin Gorda in ...
,
Winair
Winair, an abbreviation of Windward Islands Airways International NV, is a government-owned Dutch airline based in Sint Maarten. Founded in 1961 by Georges Greaux and Hippolyte Ledee, It has a fleet of seven aircraft serving ten destinations, ...
and
Seaborne Airlines
Seaborne Virgin Island Inc, operating as Seaborne Airlines, is a FAR Part 121 airline headquartered in Carolina, Puerto Rico, near the territory's capital of San Juan. It operates a seaplane shuttle service between St. Croix and St. Thomas. ...
using twin turboprop aircraft like the
ATR &
Saab 340
The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30-36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 different op ...
, as well as
Conviasa and
Amerijet, which, using
Boeing 727 Freighters, is the only airline with jet service to the republic. Since the passing of tropical storm Erika Amerijet has stopped all flight to the Douglas Charles Airport. A runway extension and service upgrade project began at Douglas-Charles Airport around 2006 and was finished in 2010. In March 2013, airline American Eagle halted flights to the island citing high labour costs. Currently, the only direct flights to Dominica are from other Caribbean islands. Douglas-Charles houses the Dominica Outstation of the
Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority.
Roadways
Dominica has of roadways, of these roadways are paved.
Dominica's road network runs primarily along the coastline and along river valleys. Major roads are two-lane highways which connect the capital, Roseau, with Portsmouth (Edward Oliver Leblanc Highway) and the Douglas Charles Airport (Dr. Nicholas Liverpool Highway). It takes about 45 minutes to drive from Portsmouth to Roseau. Private minibuses form the major public transport system. These major roads were recently reconstructed with assistance from the People's Republic of China and the European Union.
Due to Tropical Storm Erika, several road surfaces and bridges were damaged by flooding and landslides, including on the newly completed E.O. LeBlanc (Roseau to Portsmouth) and Dr. Nicholas Liverpool Highways (Pont Cassé to Douglas Charles Airport).
Railway
The only railway known to have operated on the island is a short-lived gauge forestry railway which ran inland from the port of Portsmouth on the northern Leeward coast, 45 km north of Roseau from 1910 until 1913/14.
Waterways
Dominica also provides ports for large cruise ships and transportation of goods into and out of the country. The main ports reside in
Roseau
Roseau ( Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau ...
,
Woodbridge Bay Woodbridge Bay is a bay on the southwestern coast of Dominica off Stock Farm, north of the main centre of Roseau
Roseau (Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a s ...
and in
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...
. These are regulated by the Dominica Air & Sea Ports Authority (DASPA).
Ports of Dominica
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References
Notes
External links
* http://www.dominica.gov.dm/ - Government of Dominica
* https://www.facebook.com/dominicaports/ - Dominica Air and Sea Ports Authority
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transport In Dominica