By the Caribbean Journal staff

Punta Cana’s airport has officially reopened after the passage of Hurricane Maria, officials announced.

The airport, one of the busiest in the Caribbean, welcomed three flights from Delta out of New York and Atlanta.

Punta Cana resumed operations after a preventive stop ordered by authorities during Maria’s arrival off the coast of the country.

The airport receives about 60 percent of visitors to the Dominican Republic.

Airport authorities said that flight schedules would be normalized as they confirm with individual airlines.

The hotel and tourism association of the Dominican Republic, ASONAHORES, said the country’s tourism infrastructure had not suffered “material damages” as a result of Hurricane Maria, which passed on the north and northeastern coast of the country.

“The main tourism installations and infrastructure in Punta Cana, Samanà and Puerto Plata including the North Coast, have not suffered any important damage with Hurricane Maria; its main effect has been damages to gardens and the falling of trees,” the organization said in a statement.

Around 50,000 tourists spent Wednesday night and Thursday in what officials called “secure conditions,” with those relocated returning Thursday to their original hotels.

ASONAHORES said areas on the north coast including Cabarete, Sosua and Puerto Plata had seen rain and high tide, but do not project “major impacts.”