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Tinian airport ready by Oct.
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Posted on Jun 29 2005
Tinian International Airport should be ready to accept international flights by October this year, the Transportation Security Administration said yesterday.
Rhonda K. Vickery, federal security director for Saipan, said TSA was aiming to get the federalization of the Tinian airport to coincide with the completion of its new terminal building.
Vickery said the federal agency encountered some minor facility issues, but they have all been resolved. “We will roll out the Tinian federalization sometime in October this year. As far as the construction completed and the equipment installed and the employees being hired… it should happen right that time,” she said.
Airport federalization involves the hiring of TSA-certified passenger screeners and installation of baggage inspection equipment that comply with the standards of the Department of Homeland Security.
“The federalization process has just been approved in the last two months. The process is underway now. The technology is on its way to the island now,” said Nico Melendez, TSA’s public affairs director in the Western Field region.
Vickery added that the hiring of new screeners for the Tinian airport is now underway.
TSA will hold a job fair in the island today. In August, an assessment team will arrive from the U.S. mainland to facilitate tests and evaluate applicants.
TSA screeners must at least be a U.S. citizen or U.S. national; have a high school diploma, GED or its equivalent, or at least one year of full-time work experience in security work, aviation screener work, or x-ray technician work, and English proficiency.
Vickery refused to say how many screeners TSA was looking to hire for Tinian.
The U.S. Department of Transportation had set federalization of airport security as a requisite for approving China Southern Air’s application to operate direct flights between Tinian and China.
