THE Commonwealth Ports Authority will charge higher airport rates next month.
The terminal rental rate that airline companies will pay at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport will go up to $41.07 for fiscal year 2025, from $34.92 in FY 2024, while the landing fee will increase to $19.73 from $15.25.
For the commuter terminals that serve passengers flying to Rota and Tinian, the terminal rate went up to $16.43 from $13.97, and the landing fee to $11.84 from $9.15.
The new airport rates should be implemented by Dec. 1, 2024, CPA comptroller Sheryl Sizemore told the board of directors during a special meeting on Oct. 30, 2024.
After approving the new airport rates, the CPA board informed all the affected airline companies, CPA Board Chair Ramon A. Tebuteb said.
In an interview on Tuesday, he said that normally, the board receives written comments from the airlines.
As of Tuesday, he said, they had not received comments from any of CPA’s partner airlines regarding the new rates.
Tebuteb said the new rates can change, perhaps on a monthly basis, depending on the condition of the business activities at the airport. “It’s a moving target,” he said.
During the Oct. 30, 2024 meeting, board member Joseph Diaz asked Sizemore to brief them on the proposed new airport rates.
Sizemore said besides informing airline partners about the new rates, CPA must also prepare certain required documents, “and we do this in conjunction with our consultant, Ricondo & Associates.”
This year, she said, it was determined that there were certain space allocations that needed to be incorporated into the existing rate plan. She said it was recommended that the changes to the rates should be more “reflective of the actual space usage.”
“We do understand that this is a special board meeting because time is of the essence. We should be able to implement the new rate by Dec. 1, which is our target date, meaning, we need to inform our airline partners, by Nov. 1,” she added.
In May 2024, the CPA board, heeding the desire of the administration of Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David Apatang to help the airlines, provided airlines discounts on terminal and landing fees by allowing the airlines to pay the FY 2023 airport fees.
In FY 2023, the terminal fee at Saipan international airport was $19.49 while the landing fee was $8.01.
The previous CPA board increased these fees on Oct. 1, 2023, following the advice of Ricondo & Associates that the debt service ratio requirement of 1.25 would not be met unless additional revenue was generated or expenditures were reduced.
Increased revenue
CPA’s airport revenue in FY 2024 increased by 48%, according to its citizen-centric report, which stated, “the increase was due in part to the return to operations of limited international flights and the continued implementation of a new rate methodology. Aviation fees include landing fees and terminal rental rate charges. Other sources of revenue include parking fees, permit fees, and citation and training fees.”
The aviation fee collections nearly doubled from $4.4 million in FY 2023 to $8.3 million in FY 2024, but the concession and lease income dipped to $3.4 million from $3.5 million. Airport revenue increased to $11.8 million in FY 2024 from $7.9 million in FY 2023.
The airport operating expenses, the report said, “decreased with a 9% overall reduction.”
“Although personnel costs were reduced due to the implementation of austerity measures, the savings were negated by an increase in property and casualty insurance costs,” the report continued.
Commonwealth Ports Authority Board Chair Ramon Tebuteb speaks during a special meeting on Oct. 30, 2024 in the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting classroom of the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport.
