Douglas–Charles Airport , formerly known as Melville Hall Airport, is an airport located on the northeast coast of

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

, northwest of Marigot. It is about one hour away from the second largest city

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. It is one of only two airports in the island nation of Dominica, the other being

Canefield Airport The Canefield Airport is an airport on the west coast of the 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 was officially ...

located three miles (5 km) northeast 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 small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau Ri ...

History

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. It was only after the completion of the Cross-Country Roadway connection from

Belles Belles is a small village in the Caribbean island nation of Dominica. It is located at and is a part of the country's St. Joseph administrative division. Its population is 500.Commonwealth of Dominica, ''Population and Housing Census — 200 ...

to Marigot, in 1958, that work on the airport began. The facility opened on 22 November 1961, and was first served by

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

Dakotas operated by

BWIA BWIA West Indies Airways Limited, known locally as "Bee-Wee" and also as British West Indian Airways and BWIA International, was the national airline based in Trinidad and Tobago. At the end of operations, BWIA was the largest airline operating o ...

. Three airlines were operating scheduled passenger service with turboprop aircraft into the airport in late 1979 including

Leeward Islands Air Transport Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

(

LIAT LIAT (1974) Ltd, also known as Leeward Islands Air Transport Services and operating as LIAT, is a regional airline headquartered in Antigua and Barbuda that operated high-frequency inter-island scheduled services to 15 destinations in the Caribb ...

) with

Hawker Siddeley HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorption by Hawker Siddeley. ...

flights nonstop from

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

Fort de France Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. History ...

Pointe a Pitre Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () wh ...

and

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

as well as direct, no change of plane HS 748 flights from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

and

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

;

Air Martinique Air Martinique was an airline based in the island of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. Its head office was on the grounds of Fort-de-France Airport, now Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport, in Le Lamentin. History Ai ...

with nonstop

Fokker F27 The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Euro ...

service from Fort de France; and

Air Guadeloupe Air Guadeloupe was a small French international airline with its head office in Les Abymes, Guadeloupe, France. At one time, it was on the property of Le Raizet Airport. Later it was located in the ''Immeuble Le Caducet''. Company history The s ...

with nonstop

de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, which produced the aircraft from 1965 to 1988; Viking Air purchased the type certificate, then restarted ...

service from Pointe a Pitre.

Historical jetliner service

According to the

Official Airline Guide OAG is a global travel data provider with headquarters in the UK. The company was founded in 1929 and operates in the USA, Singapore, Japan, Lithuania and China. It has a large network of flight information data including schedules, flight sta ...

( 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 British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

BAe 146-100 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Manufacture by Avro International ...

jet flights from

, St. Kitts and

; and Liberty Airlines with nonstop

Boeing 727-200 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpor ...

jet service to St. Kitts and St. Lucia as well as direct, one stop 727 service to

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. The OAG also lists scheduled passenger service at this same time flown by

into the airport with

de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...

turboprops nonstop from

, and St. Maarten as well as direct, no change of plane Dash 8 flights from

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territo ...

San Juan, PR San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

and

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

Airport expansion

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. The first-ever night landing was conducted on 9 August 2010 by

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, ...

. Regular night landings at the airport began on 20 September 2010; the first flight, from

, flew from

V.C. Bird International Airport V. C. Bird International Airport is an international airport located on the island of Antigua, northeast of St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda. History The airport originally was operated by th ...

in Antigua.

Renaming of airport

The airport was renamed from Melville Hall Airport to Douglas–Charles Airport on 27 October 2014 in honour of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Rosie Douglas Roosevelt Bernard "Rosie" Douglas (15 October 1941 – 1 October 2000) was a politician and human rights activist from Dominica. He served as Prime Minister of Dominica from February 2000 until his death in office eight months later. Early life R ...

and Pierre Charles. Melville Hall Airport

View Deplaning an American Eagle E175LR - Gate 1

Danish Air Transport - MD80 - FIFA World Cup Tour

Commercial jetliner service

On July 22, 2021,

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

announced a new, twice-weekly nonstop jet service between

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and Dominica, which began on December 8, 2021. The service is operated by its

American Eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

affiliate

Embraer 175 The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding ...

. 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 April 5, 2022, flights now operate once daily.

is currently the largest airline at the airport. As of August 16, 2022, the government is in reported talks with

to increase frequencies to the airport with an extra daily service (Weekends, Mondays, and Wednesdays) from

is now the largest air carrier to serve the airport, with a 36% market share. * Air Century operates chartered services with the

CRJ 200 The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) is a regional jet designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family. The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pro ...

from

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

and Santo Domingo–La Isabela. *

Fly All Ways Fly All Ways is an airline of Suriname, based in Paramaribo and started operations on January 10, 2016 with the launch of its inaugural flight above Suriname. Its first commercial flight took place on January 22, 2016 to São Luís, capital of th ...

operates chartered services with the

Fokker 70 The Fokker 70 is a narrow-body, twin-engined, medium-range, turbofan regional airliner designed and produced by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It was developed during the early 1990s as a smaller version of the newly-developed Fokker ...

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

and

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

. *

InterCaribbean Airways InterCaribbean Airways, Ltd. (formerly known as Air Turks & Caicos) is a low-cost airline, based in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The airline offers scheduled domestic and regional commercial passenger flight ser ...

operates chartered services with the

Embraer 145 The Embraer ERJ family (for Embraer Regional Jet, model names EMB-135, EMB-140 and EMB-145) are regional jets designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. The family includes the ERJ135 (37 passengers), ERJ140 (44 passenger ...

to various destinations in the Caribbean region. *

Sunrise Airways Sunrise Airways S.A. is a Haitian airline that provides scheduled passenger and charter flights. History Sunrise Airways was founded in 2010 and commenced flights on a charter basis on January 1, 2011. In February 2011, the carrier began schedul ...

operates chartered services with the

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

, and Santo Domingo–La Isabela. Government of Dominica in talks with other airlines Many sources have stated that the government of Dominica is in talks with various airlines - including

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada by the size and passengers carried. Air Canada maintains its headquarters in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and ...

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

JetBlue JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...

, and

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

- for new service options to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and the northeastern United States.

Notable airliner visits

On April 4, 2020, an

Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered under ...

Airbus A320neo The Airbus A320neo family is a development of the A320 family of narrow-body airliners produced by Airbus. The A320neo family (''neo'' for "new engine option") is based on the previous A319, A320 and A321 ( enhanced variant), which was then ren ...

arrived at the airport with medical supplies and equipment from

. After offloading the cargo, the aircraft left shortly after for Bogota. The aircraft was the largest

Airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

to ever land at the airport. The airport has also handled other

airliners An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

and

cargo aircraft A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of air cargo, cargo rather than passenger aircraft, passengers. Such aircraft usually ...

of similar sizes in the past. A

Canadian North Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a wholly Inuit-owned airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Nunavik region o ...

Boeing 737-500 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, ...

, which operated as a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

for a

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team. On Monday, October 14, 2013, a

McDonnell Douglas MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

operated by

Danish Air Transport DAT Aktieselskab, A/S, formerly named ''Danish Air Transport'', is a Denmark, Danish airline headquartered in Vamdrup, Kolding Municipality, operating scheduled and chartered passenger and cargo flights mainly from airports in Denmark. History ...

in collaboration with

Coca Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

arrived on the island, carrying the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

Trophy A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, in ...

. On Saturday, November 2, 2019, a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Boeing C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two ...

arrived with cargo and other humanitarian equipment.

Amerijet Amerijet International Airlines, Inc. is an American cargo airline headquartered in Miami, United States. The airline delivers air freight with its fleet of Boeing 757s and Boeing 767s from its main hub at the Miami International Airport to 48 d ...

was once a frequent operator at the airport with its

Boeing 727-200F The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpor ...

, until the airline retired the type in 2018.

Upcoming new airlines

Based on a recent report as of August 16, 2022, Venezuelan-based charter airline Sasca (in cooperation with Barbados' Executive Air and Blue Star), will soon begin operating flights in the Eastern Caribbean between

and

St.Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

, and

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...

. The flights will be operated by

Jetstream 31 The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the British ...

and

Jetstream 32 The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the Britis ...

aircraft.

Facilities

Passenger terminal

The Passenger Terminal at the airport houses 10 airline check-in counters, 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. The lounge has many offerings and 3 categories of arrival and departure services. These include: An In-Lounge Service: *A La Carte In Lounge services: Reserved Seating/Service area, Conference/Meeting Room, and a Complimentary Local Call. Arrival Services *Concierge Arrival Services: Personalized Meet & Greet, Baggage Assistance, Taxi Arrangements, and Assisted Immigration & Customs. *A La Carte Arrival Services: Personalized Meet & Greet, Baggage Assistance, Assisted Immigration & Customs, and Taxi Arrangements. Departure Services *Basic: Lounge Security Screening, Boarding Announcements, Airside Access to the Departure Gate. *Concierge Departure Services: Baggage Assistance, Check-in Assistance, Lounge Security Screening, Boarding Announcements, and Plane Boarding Assistance. *A La Carte Departure Services: Baggage Assistance, Check-in Assistance, and Plane Boarding Assistance.

Passenger gates

With the recent commencement of service to

operated by

, a ground-level Passenger gate system was implemented. *The terminal currently has three ground-level gates. Airlines and their respective gates are as follows: *Ground-level (

Gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...

1) -

. *Ground-level (

2) - Not Assigned (No other airlines utilize the Parking Stand on the apron) - (Gate 2 -

Airport terminal An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft. Within the terminal, passengers purchase ...

) -

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 ...

Caribbean Airlines Caribbean Airlines Limited is the state-owned airline and flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago. The airline is also the flag carrier of Jamaica and Guyana. Headquartered in Iere House in Piarco, the airline operates flights to the Caribbean, No ...

Silver Airways Silver Airways LLC. is a United States regional airline with its headquarters in Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale. It was founded in 2011 with assets from the former Gulfstream I ...

*All other

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

airliners are remotely parked at various non-gated areas on the apron.

Runways and taxiways

The airport features one 5,761-foot runway. Runway 09 has a 1,158 foot

Displaced Threshold A displaced threshold or DTHR is a runway threshold located at a point other than the physical beginning or end of the runway. The portion of the runway behind a displaced threshold may be used for takeoff in either direction and landings from the ...

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. *Runway 09 - Visual Approach - HIRL available *Runway 27 - RNAV Approach - HIRL available - SALS - Has a (PAPI)

Precision approach path indicator A precision approach path indicator (PAPI) is a visual aid that provides guidance information to help a pilot to acquire and maintain the correct approach (in the vertical plane) to an airport or an aerodrome. It is generally located on the left- ...

System at ( angle 3.00°)

Runway extenson

According to unofficial reports, there have been soil testings and land evaluations taking place on the western end of Runway 09/27. According to those reports, there are plans for a Runway 09 extension further into the valley to accommodate larger passenger aircraft.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Top destinations

Visitor arrival performance 2021-2022

As countries emerge out of the Covid-19 pandemic, travel and passenger arrivals have increased. Below are the statistics from Q1 2021 - June 2022.

Visitor arrival overview 2021

* Total Stayover arrivals 2021 - 14,888 - a 31.5% decline over 2020. This performance also reflects an 83% decline over the corresponding pre-COVID period in 2019. * Total visitor arrivals for the 9-month period (April to December) exceeded the corresponding period in 2020 by 288%. * Q4 Arrivals (October, November, December) - 6,257. This number accounted for 42% of 2021 stayover arrivals compared to 2020 when Q4 accounted for only 10% of arrivals. * (December Arrivals) - 3,217 (accounted for the higher number of arrivals per monthly basis. Stayover Visitor Arrival Overview 2021

Visitor arrival overview 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). * A Month-on-month improvement was seen in arrivals, with February arrivals increasing 26% over January and March increasing 15% over February. March 2022 visitor arrivals are the second highest since the advent of the pandemic in 2020, falling below December 2021 by 3%. March 2022 exceeded the corresponding period in 2021 by 309%. Q1 2022 Visitor Arrival Performance

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%. May 2022 Stayover Arrivals Statistics

Y-T-D June 2022 stayover arrivals surpass Full-Year 2021 * Dominica's tourism industry is on a path to recovery; evident in the performance of stayover visitor arrivals in the first half of 2022, which has already surpassed total arrivals in 2021. Data depicts a total of 21,162 arrivals for the period. Despite those numbers falling below the corresponding pre-pandemic period (2019), this performance reflects a 348% increase over the same period in 2021 (4,715) and a 42% increase over the full year of 2021 (14,888). * H1 2022 performance exceeded the corresponding period in 2020 by 15% and fell slightly below the full year 2020 (3%). * April registered the highest number of arrivals for H1 2022 and was also the best performing month since the pandemic struck in 2020. * The U.S market dominated H1 2022 stayover arrivals, accounting for 35% of the total, which can be attributed to the recently debuted direct flights from the US mainland on

. * The recently introduced daily flights from the US mainland, and the introduction of new flights and routes by existing airlines will positively increase the trend in stayover arrivals in the upcoming months. June 2022 stayover arrivals surpass Full-Year 2021

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 within Dominica). * Between January to July 2022, the US market accounted for 33% of total arrivals into Dominica, a 17 percentage point increase over the same period in 2017 when it accounted for 14% of arrivals. * American Airlines has seen month-on-month increases in passenger arrivals and now accounts for 75% of US visitor arrivals into Dominica. The airline is also the largest air carrier, accounting for 36% of total air arrivals; among nine airline operators. Dominica’s Visitor Arrivals from the US Continue to Rise

Carrier shares

Carrier market shares

Annual traffic

Incidents and accidents

*An Air Anguilla

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...

impacted terrain west of the airport, killing all 11 on board, on 23 August 1998. *On Saturday 11 August 2007, a

Learjet 35 The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet. When used by the United States Air Force they carry the designation C-21A. The aircraft are powered by ...

business jet ran off the runway suffering extensive damage. *On Tuesday 4 December 2012, an

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

cargo jet overran the runway, no reported damage or injuries. *On April 8, 2019, a British Aerospace 4100 Jetstream 41, registration HI1038, crash-landed at Douglas Charles Airport, Commonwealth of Dominica, after a commercial flight from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. There were no fatalities.

Other facilities

The airport houses the Dominica Outstation of the

Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) is a civil aviation authority serving the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The headquarters are in Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda. The agency serves as the aviation accide ...

.Dominica Outstation
"

. Retrieved on 23 December 2012.

Navigation

The airport offers an

RNAV Area navigation (RNAV, usually pronounced as "''ar-nav"'') is a method of instrument flight rules (IFR) navigation that allows an aircraft to choose any course within a network of navigation beacons, rather than navigate directly to and from t ...

approach only on Runway 27. Landings on Runway 09 are strictly visual.

References

External links

OpenStreetMap - Douglas-Charles International Airport
15 Feb 2006 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas-Charles Airport 1961 establishments in Dominica Airports in Dominica Airports established in 1961

History

Historical jetliner service

Airport expansion

Renaming of airport

Commercial jetliner service

Notable airliner visits

Upcoming new airlines

Facilities

Passenger terminal

Passenger gates

Runways and taxiways

Runway extenson

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Statistics

Top destinations

Visitor arrival performance 2021-2022

Visitor arrival overview 2021

Visitor arrival overview 2022

Carrier shares

Carrier market shares

Annual traffic

Incidents and accidents

Other facilities

Navigation

See also

References

External links