French pilots lift Dominican Republic boycott

Paris.- France’s pilots’ union on Tuesday announced a lifting of the boycott of flights to the Dominican Republic, citing progress is court proceedings against two colleagues jailed in the Caribbean country charged with drug trafficking.

The French pilots union started the boycott on February 25 and decided to discontinue it on Tuesday. "The union suspended the boycott of flights to the Dominican Republic as a sign of appeasement given encouraging turn the proceeding has taken."

In a statement to local media, the union noted that the procedure "has progressed rapidly" as evidenced by a hearing set for the 25th (April) to decide on the demand to release both pilots Bruno Odos and Pascal Fauret.

A Dominican Today source close to the case said the pilots’ lawyers managed to a change of venue for the hearing, which will now take place in Santo Domingo, after numerous delays in Higuey (east), since the nearly one ton of cocaine was seized aborad a Falcon Jet in Punta Cana Airport.