Previous Story
Saipan airport expects 7 APCs
The Francisco C. Ada-Saipan International Airport expects to have three more automated passport control machines for a total of seven APCs that will hopefully speed up the time it takes to process arriving passengers.
Commonwealth Ports Authority deputy executive director Ed Mendiola said the three APCs are worth $139,500.
During the Marianas Visitors Authority regular meeting yesterday, Mendiola said the airport expects to get the seven APCs by the end of the month.
The first four machines were obtained via an MVA grant to CPA worth $250,000 in early March 2017.
APC machines are used to quickly process arriving passengers through immigration. Passports of arriving passengers are scanned by the APC machine kiosks and the passenger answers a survey to verify biographic and flight information, totally eliminating the need for a U.S. Customs and Border Protection representative to assist passengers arriving on Saipan.
Having multiple APC machines throughout the arrival area would allow CBP representatives to focus on granting parole authority to arriving since the APC machines could not process their information.
MVA managing director Chris Concepcion said that funding for the three additional machines came from Imperial Pacific Resort and that the machines are expected to arrive by the end of the month.
“MVA sent a memo out to our members, asking for contributions for the the purchase of APC machines. The only one that responded was IPR,” said Concepcion.
According to Mendiola, CPA has already contacted the vendor of the APC machines. He said the additional machines would be ordered by the end of the week.
