HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — The Guam International Airport Authority celebrates 48 years of service this January and to commemorate the milestone a proclamation ceremony was held Friday.
“Forty-eight years is a long time. It’s literally half a lifetime,” GIAA board Chairman Brian Bamba said during the ceremony. “As I look around the room, it’s great to see a mix of young, new and old faces who graces our airport family, many of whom have been around a while and represents the strong foundation of our airport which has been built, repaired, renovated and expanded over the years.”
For the last 48 years, the airport has had to be innovative and overcome challenges in aviation and the travel industry as an autonomous agency connecting the island to the rest of the world.
“I like to think that the airport is Guam’s main portal to the world, bridging distances that allow us to experience life, and throughout the 48 years of our journey, we have been able to provide a stable, well-run government organization based on sound fiscal discipline and efficient management of resources while also being able to employ innovation, technology and new ways of doing things and best practices in all we do,” he said.
Bamba did not give the airport sole credit for its success over the last four decades and recognized the Leon Guerrero-Tenorio administration for their contributions to the airport’s success.
“We are able to succeed because of the relationships that we have nurtured over the many years. And we are encouraged by (the) governor and lieutenant governor’s vision and leadership to make Guam a better place,” he said, while also thanking local senators for their support.
Acting Gov. Josh Tenorio recognized the hardworking employees at the airport, especially in recent times.
“The airport’s success is based on the employees and the professionalism that are exhibited every day. And the biggest … example of that was what the airport did after Typhoon Mawar and what they did to open up the airport in record time. Record time, it is truly amazing,” Tenorio said as he further recognized the challenge the airport faced.
“Even when your own facilities were heavily damaged, to be sure that aid was received, to make sure that we were able to evacuate all of the foreigners and visitors that were stranded here during the typhoon,” Tenorio said. “When I was up there and seeing the magnitude of the destruction that happened in the interior, the exterior, but seeing such a rapid mobilization gave me such great confidence not only in the success of the airport but also to what the future holds for the airport.”
The future holds further expansion, Tenorio added.
“We have an opportunity. We didn’t think we’d have a renovation this soon, but, hey, we’ll turn the lemon into lemonade and be able to update the airport interior to continue the growth and expansion that is required for us to maintain our role as the leader in transportation here in the Western Pacific but also asking a greater role economically in the greater region,” the acting governor said.
Tenorio also noted that efforts are underway to expand the number of airlines and locations that can be serviced out of Guam.
