GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios told reporters on Wednesday that he was “very concerned” with the Commonwealth Ports Authority’s decision to increase airport fees next month.
According to CPA, it will implement the new airport rates by Dec. 1, 2024.
“I am concerned about that, obviously, because Asia-Pacific is a very competitive destination — Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, and Korea. We need to make sure that we don’t impact the feasibility and liabilities of international airlines that [fly to] the Commonwealth,” Palacios said.
He said CPA Board Chair Ramon Tebuteb “invited me to the airport now to sit down and hash this out, but eventually we will be sitting with the board and discuss what kind of impact they have projected.”
“I’m just concerned and very concerned about it,” the governor reiterated.
He earlier asked CPA to provide airlines with “some sort of relief” in dealing with their increasing cost of operations.
In June 2024, the CPA board approved CPA Resolution 2024-4, an emergency regulation to exempt commercial airlines from paying terminal rental fees. The emergency regulation was in effect for 120 days.
On Oct. 30, 2024, the CPA board approved an increase in the terminal rental rate that airline companies pay at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport. From $34.92 in FY 2024, the rate will be raised to $41.07 in fiscal year 2025. The landing fee will likewise increase to $19.73 from $15.25.
For the commuter terminals that serve passengers flying to Rota and Tinian, the terminal rate will go up to $16.43 from $13.97, while the landing fee will be raised 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.
In Aug. 2023, the previous board was advised by its consultant, Ricondo & Associates, that CPA must meet its debt service ratio requirement of 1.25 by generating additional revenue and reducing expenditures.
Former CPA Board Chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds has said that the “lack of tourists…has a significant impact on CPA’s ability to keep its airport rates down.”
Comparing today’s tourist arrivals with the pre-pandemic numbers shows that “we are nowhere where we need to be,” she added.
