Saipan traffic controllers to retain jobs

No staffing changes are expected to happen when Airservices Australia takes over the air traffic control tower at the Saipan International Airport on Jan. 1.

Richard Dudley, corporate communication manager for Airservices Australia, said the firm has been contacting all staff across all the locations covered by the company’s contract with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

“We are happy to say that almost all of the existing staff indicated they would like to take up a position with Airservices,” Dudley said in an email interview with Saipan Tribune.

He added that the company will not be bringing in additional people from Australia. He said the services to be supplied at Saipan will be managed by Airservices Pacific Inc., a U.S. subsidiary owned by Airservices Australia.

“The board of [API] will bring a wealth of experience from Airservices Australia to our U.S. operations and will provide a channel for us to share our international experiences with our Australian team,” Dudley said.

Starting Jan.1, Airservices will replace Serco as the provider of air traffic control services at the Saipan airport. Also covered by the firm’s contract with FAA are ATC towers on Guam, and Molkai, Lihue, Kona, and Kalaeloa in Hawaii.

Airservices won the five-year contract, believed to be worth $15 million, against strong competition, which included six other bidders.

Dudley, however, refused to disclose the actual contract price for Saipan.

“We believe our bid was competitive on price. Our proposal to the FAA provided a strong technical solution which demonstrated our ability to further add to the success of the FAA’s Federal Contract Towers program,” he said.

Dudley said Airservices is looking forward to Jan. 1, as he cited the extensive preparation currently being done by the company.

“We have a comprehensive phase-in plan which addresses a range of areas including commercial, human resource, logistics, support services, and of course, operational issues. Managing this plan in a systematic and professional way is a key success factor for us,” he said.

One of the steps taken by Airservices is the appointment of a project manager with experience in the U.S. air traffic control environment. This project manager has been in the Western Pacific area since mid-November, Dudley said.