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Airport back to normal operations
Partial taxiway lights still need fixing
After four dark nights, the Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport is back to normal operations after electricians succeeded in fixing the lights on the runway and part of the taxiway.
The lights passed the overnight testing done by lead electrician Richard Cabrera and his team from Guam as well as the team from the Commonwealth Ports Authority.
“The lights were energized [Tuesday] night. They were left on for observation and overnight testing. The runway lights are fully lit, parallel taxiway from Charlie to Alpha 2/5 are fully lit,” CPA executive director MaryAnn Lizama said.
However, the taxiway Bravo to Alpha 7 remains without lights.
“There’s a current [Notice to Airmen] for this area and it will still remain,” Lizama said.
Despite this, the airport is back to full flight operations starting 2pm yesterday.
According to Lizama, a “follow me ops” where an aircraft will follow their truck will be done in the area that has no lights. She said this is something that has been done before.
“A ‘follow me ops’ will commence during crosswinds, an operation that already exists,” Lizama said. “Because it’s not lit, they have to do a ‘follow me ops.’”
Lizama said that teams are working on the problem area of the taxiway and will continue to work on isolated areas for further assessment and troubleshooting.
“Team Guam and Team CPA are working on the circuits for the Constant Current Regulator number 2 for taxiway Bravo to Alpha 7,” Lizama said.
She said they are trying to get approval from Guam International Airport Authority for their electricians to remain on island for some more days.
“We’re trying to keep Team Guam for additional days to further assess our areas, to hopefully try to repair, do what they need to do, just to be on the safe side,” Lizama said.
Lizama thanked the airport operators and users for their patience in the last four days.
“I want to thank all of you for your patience. We’ve all been through hell and high water but we pull through together so thank you for your partnership,” Lizama said.
