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Common use of terminal equipment to be made mandatory for airlines
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Posted on Feb 18 2005
Having failed to get two airlines to agree to the concept, the Commonwealth Ports Authority approved yesterday a proposal to make the utilization of common use terminal equipment mandatory at the Saipan International Airport.
The CPA Board of Directors adopted a proposed amendment to the airport rules and regulations that would require all carriers operating flights from the Saipan airport to execute a memorandum of agreement binding them to participate in the common use terminal program.
The agreement would also require the airlines to pay its calculated share of the expense for the use of the terminal equipment.
“Failure to execute said memorandum of agreement and comply with its terms and conditions shall be grounds for eviction from the Saipan International Airport and the denial of the right to use airport facilities,” read a portion of the draft amendment.
With the board’s approval, the proposed regulation will be published in the next edition of the Commonwealth Register and will be subject to a 30-day public comment period.
The common use terminal equipment will allow the staff of any airline to use their respective systems and access their data on any workstation throughout the airport whenever they need to serve passengers.
Currently, each airline has its own check-in counter and terminal gate. As a result, congestion often occurs at one area while the rest of the facilities are left idle.
Airlines who have expressed support for the project are Continental Airlines, Japan Airlines, and China Southern Air.
Northwest Airlines raised reservations about the installation of the new equipment, citing that they had invested in a system of their own barely three years ago.
Asiana Airlines has not expressed any official support or opposition to the project.
