MVA wants joint board meeting with CPA

Concepcion

Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Chris Concepcion wants to have a joint board meeting with their counterparts from the Commonwealth Ports Authority to help find ways in solving the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport’s numerous problems.

Saipan Tribune tried a number of times to get comments from CPA acting executive director Chris Tenorio or any other airport official, but they have yet to respond to efforts to set up an interview, and numerous phone calls and emails.

Concepcion, in last Friday’s MVA board meeting, said the air-conditioning unit at the Saipan airport has yet to be fully fixed with the airport putting several huge fans near the airline counter areas to cool off departing tourists, who are in line to have their baggage checked in.

The conveyor belt also has broken down early this month and is still not operational, forcing airport personnel and ground handling crews of Pacific Oriental Inc. to manually unload the baggage and luggage of the airline passengers, either arriving or departing.

Reports had it that CPA needs to fly in an expert from the mainland to fix the damage in the conveyor belt and it would take at least six months to repair everything.

“The air-conditioning unit needs to be fixed since it’s an inconvenience to the passengers. You’re standing in line and it’s hot. The broken conveyor belt is another one that needs to be fixed. Imagine how long it would take for you to wait for you to get your bags,” said Concepcion.

“We should sit down as a board and have a joint meeting with the CPA board. There are a lot of concerns with the airport right now,” Concepcion told the members of the MVA board present in the meeting held in their San Jose office’s conference room.

MVA chair Marian Aldan-Pierce then advised Concepcion to raise the issues in the upcoming CPA regular board meeting on Thursday at the CPA conference room at the George Fleming Building at the Port of Saipan.

“You can attend the meeting as a member of the community and raise the concerns during the public comments. If they still failed to act on our concerns, then we will request to have a joint board meeting with them,” was Aldan-Pierce’s advice to Concepcion.

Concepcion, in an earlier interview by the Saipan Tribune, said the CNMI airports, especially the Saipan International Airport, are the first and last thing tourists see when they arrive and leave the CNMI. The Tinian and Rota Airports, and all seaports are also under CPA.

Early this month, the lights at runway 7/25, the Saipan airport’s main landing strip, were not functioning at full capacity causing delays or cancellation of flights. There are other issues facing CPA right now and Concepcion together with the entire MVA board is hopeful their counterparts would act on it immediately.