CPA moves forward with Tinian landing system

The Commonwealth Ports Authority last week took an early step toward the construction of an instrument landing system at Tinian’s airport, a key move for boosting tourism on the island.

CPA has offered a contract to design the system, which will help guide aircraft into Tinian’s airport, to the engineering and architectural firm Thales Inc, acting CPA director Lee Cabrera said. However, the company has yet to accept the $300,000 to $400,000 contract officially, Cabrera added.

Local Tinian government officials have long sought the construction of the landing system to aid the island’s tourism industry. Business leaders note that the task of convincing charter flight companies to serve the island has proven challenging as the absence of a landing system increases the risks associated with flying there.

Leaders in Tinian’s tourism industry have also urged the landing system project’s completion. In an interview Monday, Tom Liu, general manager of the Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino, noted that many tourists visiting Tinian currently arrive on the island via Saipan, journeying from the airport to a bus to a ferry boat—an often rocky trip depending on the seas—before setting foot on the island.

“Sometimes it’s not the best way to welcome them,” Liu said. “It will help to have another international airport with an instrument landing system that is close to us.”

Having the landing system in place will let the casino “be more aggressive” in securing charter flights to Tinian and could increase the number of visitors able to reach the casino, Liu added.

In addition, the landing system could decrease the price of chartering flights to Tinian, letting casinos devote more funds to boosting the overall number of charters that fly there, according to Phillip Mendiola-Long of the Bridge Investment Group, which is in the first phase of constructing the Tinian Oceanview Resort and Condominiums, a new development project.

Timing the completion of the landing system with the construction of the Bridge Investment project is critical to early success of the hotel, Mendiola-Long added, as it will ensure more clients and the company is now crafting charter deals with Japanese, Korean and Chinese air carriers around the prospect of having it in place.

“This is something we’ve been wanting for a long time,” he said, noting that the company could “tinker with the construction timeline” to coordinate with the landing system plan.

A third hotel and casino project is also planned on Tinian yet representatives of it could not be reached at press time. Meanwhile, CPA staff engineer Ed Mendiola noted the landing system will likely serve as a “useful tool” for landing on the island during storms.