What is RED Air? Things to know about new Dominican airline that crash-landed in Miami

RED Air, a Dominican Republic low-fare airline launched in November 2021, only flies between its home base in Santo Domingo and Miami International Airport.

One of its passenger jets from the Dominican Republic crash landed at Miami airport on Tuesday evening, bursting into flames, injuring three of the 126 people on board. Firefighters doused the billowing flames that engulfed RED Air Flight 203 after it suffered a landing-gear malfunction, skidded on the runway and came to a stop on a grassy area.

Héctor Gómez, the CEO, told a foreign aviation trade publication in December 2021, that the airline was planning to fly to seven destinations in five countries by the end of 2022.

The new Dominican airline has four McDonnell Douglas MD-81 and MD-82 aircraft and more than 50 employees.

The company said in a recent prepared statement that its goal is to help the ailing tourism industry in the Dominican Republic recover from the devastating effects of the coronavirus pandemic that began in March 2020 and continue.

According to Aviacionline, an aviation trade publication, RED Air is the fourth airline to take off out of the Dominican Republic. The newest airline is backed by Dominican investors and by the owners of LASER Airlines, a Venezuelan carrier.

A Miami Herald reporter was unable to reach RED Air officials in Santo Domingo by phone or via social media on Tuesday night.

This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 9:35 PM.

Anna Jean Kaiser

Miami Herald

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Anna covers South Florida’s tourism industry for the business desk, including cruises, hotels, airlines, ports and the hospitality workforce. Previously, she was a foreign correspondent based in Brazil. She has an M.A. from Columbia Journalism School and a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz.