Airport landing fees up 90%

The Commonwealth Ports Authority has finally done what they’ve been dreading to do—they have adopted a new rate methodology that reflects a whopping 90% increase in landing fees and a 79% increase in terminal rental fees.

With the CPA’s fiscal year 2024 budget the center of discussions during an emergency meeting yesterday at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, board members reluctantly but unanimously voted to adopt a 90% increase in landing fees for both the Saipan airport’s main terminal and the commuter terminals for Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

In addition, the CPA board also adopted a 79% increase in its current terminal rental rate for both the Saipan International Airport’s main terminal and for the commuter terminals for Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

With the newly adopted budget, the CPA terminal rental rates for the Saipan International Airport’s main terminal goes up from $19.49 per square foot to $34.92. Meanwhile, the terminal rental rates for all CNMI commuter terminals is now up from $7.79 to $13.97.

As for landing fees, with the 90% increase, CPA will now be charging international airline carriers $15.25 per thousand pounds of certified maximum gross landing weight of the aircraft; they were previously being charged $8.01. As for CNMI commuter terminals, the 90%-increase would bring landing fees up from $4.81 to $9.15.

Aside from the increase in rates, the CPA board also adopted an eight-hour cut for all CPA employees and suspended its airline incentive program.

In addition, CPA also increased the current parking rate at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport parking lot.

All these changes will take effect come fiscal year 2024, which starts on Oct. 1, 2023.

Speaking during yesterday’s budget hearing, board member Pete Reyes stated that this is the reality: CPA runs the CNMI’s ports on its own without government subsidy, therefore they have to make the unpopular decision to raise rates to keep the airports open.

“Our job isn’t to be popular; our job is to keep the airports open. I know this is an unpopular decision, but we need to support it. I will continue to support keeping the airports open until the time I leave,” he said.

Reyes’ term is set to expire this October.

CPA chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds explained that CPA has had to make these extreme changes in order to keep the airports open and, based on the number of arrivals and the number of airlines the CNMI currently has coming in, increasing rates is the only viable option to keep CNMI’s airports open.

“When I said CPA was in a world of hurt, its not just CPA, because CPA is passing on these charges to the airlines. The only way that we can bring these costs down is if we bring in new airlines. I don’t care where the tourists come from. All I care about is keeping the airports open and to do that, we need money and the only way we can make that money is by getting more airlines to come here,” she said.

‘The only way that we can bring these costs down is if we bring in new airlines.’

—Kimberlyn King-Hinds