UA hosts inaugural Safety and Health Fair

United Airlines hosted its inaugural Safety and Health Fair yesterday at the Francisco C. Ada/ Saipan International Airport to promote not only airline safety but overall health and wellness to members of the CNMI community.

In what is being hoped as the start of many, United Airlines Saipan’s first Safety and Health Fair proved to be a success, with dozens of community members availing of the many services that were provided.

“We’re really excited. We think it’ll be an annual event, and we want to expand it. Today, we took baby steps, we wanted to start slow and make sure we do a good job for the community. It’s all about our community, and we’re just so blessed to have everybody,” said Dave Baker, general manager for United Airlines Saipan.

Baker explained that having this kind of fair once a year is important because it helps ensure that health and safety awareness not just for children, but for adults as well.

“Anytime you can talk about safety, it helps elevate everybody’s awareness. The more we can do these kinds of events, and we get the community to help each other, we’re just better off,” he said.

Among the service providers present were the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting, which talked about home and airport fire safety.

According to firefighter Edward Dela Cruz Jr., ARFF wants to share the importance of smoke alarms and fire extinguishers and how to use them.

“So here at our booth right now, we have smoke alarms and fire extinguishers, smoke alarms for fire and home prevention. We’re talking about the importance of safety, of being able to find out if you’re going to have a fire in your rooms. And then for the fire extinguisher, is it’s imperative for everybody to know how to utilize an extinguisher. It could be at your home, it could be at your school, it could be in your workplace. It’s really important for people to know how to use these,” he said.

Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. CEO Esther Muña also came with a team to provide blood pressure and blood sugar checks as well as flu shots.

In addition to the physical health services, the CHCC team also provided information and awareness on mental health.

“We think that’s super important. Whether you’re a member of the community or at work, mental health is really important,” Baker noted.

Baker noted that M2 fitness hosted a Zumba class, free of charge, for everyone present.

“We think exercise is important. We’re really thankful that they’re here with Islander Rent-a-Car,” he said.

POI Aviation came not only show their support for United Airlines, but to help United spread awareness about aircraft safety.

Baker also acknowledged the importance of the part that Commonwealth Ports Authority played in making the event happen.

“Without CPA, we couldn’t have made this happen. We thank CPA for allowing us to host this fair in their terminal,” he said.