The Dominican Republic is looking beyond basic regulatory compliance as it sets its aviation safety priorities through 2028. Under the country’s National Aviation Safety Plan (PENSO) 2025-2028, the next phase of oversight will place greater emphasis on risk-based supervision, safety data, performance measurement and the wider adoption of Safety Management Systems across the industry.
The shift starts from a relatively strong regulatory baseline. According to the PENSO, the Dominican Republic currently records 90.5% Effective Implementation (EI) under ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme Continuous Monitoring Approach (USOAP CMA). The national target is to raise overall EI to at least 92% by 2028, while ensuring that every critical element and technical audit area reaches a minimum of 80%.
But the plan also makes clear that a high overall score does not eliminate structural gaps. Dominican authorities identify weaknesses in technical staff training and assessment, oversight of aerodromes, ground handling, air navigation and flight operations, regulatory processes, airport SMS acceptance, qualified personnel availability, and the collection and exchange of safety information.
From compliance to risk-based oversight
One of the clearest indications of the changing approach is the planned implementation of Risk-Based Surveillance (RBS).
The measure appears among the organisational Safety Enhancement Initiatives included in the PENSO, alongside stronger mechanisms for resolving safety issues and improved coordination between institutions involved in the State Safety Programme.
This reflects a broader evolution in the way oversight is expected to operate. Rather than measuring progress solely through compliance with rules and audit requirements, the plan increasingly connects supervision with identified risks, operational performance and the information generated across the aviation system.
That approach is particularly relevant as the authorities seek to strengthen oversight while dealing with existing resource and staffing constraints.
Safety data moves closer to the centre of oversight
Data is another major component of the 2025-2028 strategy.
Among the measures included in the organisational roadmap are the acceptance of operators’ Flight Data Analysis Programs (FDAP), the development of regulations for mandatory incident reporting, stronger State safety performance measurement, legal protection for safety data and related information, and reinforcement of the national Safety Data Collection and Processing System (SDCPS).
Taken together, these measures point toward a system in which safety information is expected to play a larger role before an accident occurs, supporting the identification of trends and helping authorities and service providers decide where intervention is most needed.
The PENSO itself was developed using a data-driven risk assessment. National high-risk categories were identified after analysing accidents and incidents recorded between 2015 and 2024, with severity, frequency and global and regional risk categories among the factors considered.
Service providers face higher SMS expectations
The strategy also places greater responsibility on service providers.
By 2028, the Dominican Republic aims for at least 60% of certified service providers to have an accepted Safety Management System, while at least 80% of providers with an accepted SMS should have agreed performance arrangements in place.
The plan also expects industry stakeholders to develop safety indicators aligned with national objectives and provide the data required to measure State-level safety performance.
This creates a closer link between national oversight and the safety management systems operated by airlines, airports and other aviation service providers. The PENSO therefore treats safety performance not only as a regulatory responsibility, but as something that must be measured across several layers of the aviation system.
Industry programmes add another layer
The Dominican strategy also recognises the role of established industry safety programmes.
The PENSO specifically references ACI’s Airport Excellence (APEX) in Safety programme, the CANSO/EUROCONTROL safety management maturity assessment, the Flight Safety Foundation’s BARS programme, IATA’s IOSA and ISAGO audits, and the IS-BAO standard for business aviation.
Their inclusion is significant because it formalises the role that industry-based assessments can play alongside State oversight.
The document is nevertheless explicit that these programmes do not replace government surveillance. Instead, they are considered complementary tools that can help service providers improve safety performance and prepare for compliance audits.
For operators and airports, this points toward an increasingly layered safety environment combining regulatory supervision, internal SMS processes and external industry assessment programmes.
Technology still depends on people
The move toward performance-based and data-driven supervision also exposes a more traditional constraint: skilled personnel.
The PENSO identifies shortages of qualified technical staff, particularly aviation accident investigators, as an institutional challenge. Its roadmap includes measures to attract, train and retain specialists, as well as a review of compensation mechanisms for technical personnel and plans to cover staffing requirements linked to the current volume of operations.
Other measures seek to automate the tracking of qualifications and training and to establish clearer priorities for technical staff development.
The implication is straightforward: stronger data systems and more sophisticated oversight methods will only be effective if regulators have the technical capacity to use them.
By 2028, the Dominican Republic is targeting implementation of at least 70% of the actions committed under the PENSO. Progress will be monitored continuously by the IDAC, with an annual safety report intended to show advances toward national objectives and the status of the Safety Enhancement Initiatives.
The real test will therefore extend beyond whether the country moves its USOAP score from 90.5% to 92%. It will be whether the new framework translates stronger data, SMS adoption and risk-based oversight into more effective safety management across the Dominican aviation system.
Source: Instituto Dominicano de Aviación Civil (IDAC), Plan Estratégico Nacional de Seguridad Operacional de la aviación (PENSO) 2025-2028.
