CPA tells DOT its operating income is now negative

Due to the twin shocks of Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018 and the COVID-19 pandemic soon after, the Commonwealth Ports Authority has experienced a significant loss of income and needs federal aid in order to ensure the continued operations for all three CNMI airports.

This was the key message of CPA in a letter it recently sent the U.S Department of Transportation explaining why they are in dire need of supplemental funding.

“CPA experienced a decline in operating and net income. In 2017, operating income peaked at $13.7 million. After the twin shocks of Super Typhoon Yutu and COVID-19, operating income is now negative with over $5.2 million in operating loss in 2021,” states part of the letter.

CPA stated that declining revenue is occurring at all ports within the CNMI, but it is best exemplified by the performance of the Francisco C.Ada/Saipan International Airport, which accounts for nearly all of CPA’s revenue.

“Between [fiscal year] 2013 and [fiscal year] 2021, an average of 66% of aeronautic revenue came from terminal arrival fees, rents, and utilities. Income from these sources was relatively stable between [fiscal years] 2013 and 2016. In [fiscal year] 2019, this income had a severe drop of $2 million due to the devastation of Super Typhoon Yutu. In [fiscal year] 2020, it dropped by another $2.9 million because tourism was completely shut down due to COVID-19. And in [fiscal year] 2021, it dropped even further by another $2.5 million as our borders remained closed and our only revenue source, tourism, was at a snail pace recovery. CPA revenues are highly tied to passenger demand for air travel to Saipan, and the timing of these decreases shows that Super Typhoon Yutu and the COVID-19 pandemic are its driving forces,” said CPA.

CPA is asking DOT for $30 million for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 to keep CNMI airports afloat until fiscal year 2026.

Yutu devastated Saipan and Tinian on Oct. 24, 2018. A year after, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported that Saipan and Tinian were slowly but steadily recovering.
Although hundreds of residents still lived in makeshift tents, power and water were mostly restored and tourism was on an uptick once again.

Unfortunately, five months later, the CNMI, like the rest of the world, was shut down due to COVID-19.

Due to these dual events, the CNMI’s economic outlook is dire, CPA said.

the incident, they reportedly observed that the victim’s right eye had a dark discoloration like a bruise and the white inner corner of her right eye had red spot like blood. Police also observed a scratch and a bruise on the woman’s chin and inner right arm. There were also red marks on the right side of her neck, and on top of her head, police said.

The complaint against Tammy stated that he had wakened his girlfriend on Saturday afternoon by slapping her shoulder, as she lay asleep with her two toddlers.

The girlfriend told police that Tammy had read her messages and got upset with the messages she had sent to a male friend. She said she apologized to Tammy, but he pushed her away. Later, she said Tammy hit her head with an iPad.

She said Tammy also punched the right side of her face, making her feel like she was going to pass out. She said Tammy used both his hands to grab her hair and pulled her head from side to side.
The victim said Tammy would calm down, but then would get riled up again.

The victim told police that Tammy tried to strangle her five times. She claimsTammy’s hands were wrapped around her neck as he pushed her against the wall, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Tammy also allegedly pulled the victim’s hair, grabbed both her arms, and threw her on the bed.

Later, when she had the opportunity to get out of the bedroom, she called for police assistance. She said Tammy apologized because he did not want to get arrested.