Hofschneider, R-Tinian, made the request after Mayor Jose San Nicolas and Gov. Benigno R. Fitial separately made emergency declarations for the island so that certain funds, including those for ILS, can be reprogrammed to fix the island’s harbor outer wall.
“Although I agree that the disrepair of the breakwater merits our full attention, I do not want to risk losing the benefits of an improved landing system at the airport. ILS is the key to our future economic development on Tinian as we look to increase our tourist arrivals,” the senator told Babauta in a letter sent yesterday.
Chinese tourists frequent Tinian where a casino is located.
They are flown to the islands from different key cities in China through charter flights.
Majority of Chinese airlines still use the ILS as a guide to safely land planes on the runway.
The Global Positioning System, or GPS, which uses satellite navigation system to safely land an aircraft is preferred by busy international airports but ILS, the radio-based precision guide to land a plane, is still used in China.
“In light of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano’s approval last week of parole entry for Chinese and Russian tourists, the ILS improvements are all the more critical.
As we look to develop this market and the casino industry on Tinian, ILS will provide enhanced arrival capacity from these and other locations in the region. I urge you to oppose any request to reprogram ILS funding at this time,” Hofschneider told Babauta.
