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Arroyo Barril Airport (MDAB) is a small domestic aerodrome on the Samana peninsula of the Dominican Republic, serving as a gateway for visitors to the region's beaches and natural attractions. Once designated an international airport, it was reclassified for domestic traffic after the larger Samana El Catey International Airport opened nearby in 2007. The field's single hard runway and daytime-only operation make it a straightforward but characterful VFR destination for pilots exploring this part of the Caribbean.
Arroyo Barril Airport lies in the Samana Province of the Dominican Republic, near the settlement of Las Pascualas on the Samana peninsula. It is a domestic-only aerodrome regulated by the Dominican Institute of Civil Aviation (IDAC) and managed by Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (Aerodom) under a long-term concession running through 2060. For a visiting sim pilot it offers a modest single-runway field set against the scenery of the Samana peninsula, within reach of attractions such as Salto del Limon, Cayo Levantado and Los Haitises.
The airport sits at coordinates 19.2 N, -69.4333 W in Samana Province, close to Las Pascualas on the Samana peninsula. Nearby aerodromes in the area include Samana El Catey International Airport, which was built to handle the larger commercial traffic that Arroyo Barril's runway and apron could not accommodate.
Arroyo Barril has a single physical runway, 11/29, of hard surface construction measuring 3827 feet in length. There is no ILS available at the field.
The airport's tower frequency is TWR 118.45 MHz. No ILS or other instrument approach aids are available, so arrivals and departures are conducted visually.
Arroyo Barril was originally inaugurated by the Dominican government in 1994 as an international airport. It was subsequently leased to Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (Aerodom) under a 30-year concession beginning in 2000. Because the runway and apron proved too small for large commercial aircraft, Aerodom invested US$80 million to build the nearby Samana El Catey International Airport in 2007, after which Arroyo Barril was reclassified to handle only domestic flights. Passenger numbers at the field declined markedly over the following years, falling from 13,456 in 2016 to just 769 in 2019. At the end of 2023 the Dominican government granted VINCI Airports, Aerodom's parent, a 30-year extension to its concession, pushing the contract's end date from 2030 out to 2060.
Arroyo Barril today handles only domestic flights, chiefly serving tourists travelling from other parts of the Dominican Republic to visit the Samana peninsula's attractions, including Salto del Limon, Cayo Levantado and Los Haitises. Operations are restricted to daytime hours. The field remains under the concession management of Aerodom, part of the VINCI Airports group.
