Enplaned passengers hit 5-year high

The Commonwealth Ports Authority spent 5 percent less to enplane each passenger, as the number of departures hit a five-year high in fiscal year 2004.

CPA posted a cost per enplaned passenger of $15.09 in FY 2004, an 87-cent decrease from the previous year.

The cost per enplaned passenger, or CEP, refers to the average amount CPA spent to service each passenger departing from any of the CNMI’s three airports. It is computed by dividing the airport division’s total operating expenses by the number of departing passengers.

CPA data showed that the airports’ operating expenses reached $10.3 million in FY 2004, an increase of 10 percent compared with the $9.3 million operating costs in FY 2003.

CPA comptroller George Palican attributed the increase to the maintenance projects done at the airport.

A total of 680,667 passengers departed from CNMI airports between Oct. 1, 2003 to Sept. 30, 2004, surpassing the FY2003 figure by 16 percent.

The period also registered the highest level of enplaned passengers when compared over the past five years. The previously highest figure—670,853 enplaned passengers—was recorded in FY 2000, followed by 643,139 passengers in FY 2001.

Departures plunged to only 554,794 in FY 2002 as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A slight recovery was seen in FY 2003, when enplaned passengers totaled 585,255. However, the SARS epidemic and Iraq war outbreak stunted this growth.

CPA statistics further showed that 609,502 or about 90 percent of the passengers in FY 2004 departed from the Saipan International Airport, where all international flights are being operated.

The Saipan airport had operating costs of $8.4 million in the same period. This resulted in an enplanement cost of $13.80, which is 3 percent lower compared with the cost in FY 2003.

Rota and Tinian airports also posted declines in their enplanement costs due to lowered operating costs or increased passenger traffic.

During FY 2004, Rota airport serviced 31,760 passengers, a 5-percent increase from the total departures in FY 2003. At the same time, the airport cut its expenses also by 5 percent, or over $50,000.

All this resulted in a $3.21 reduction in the Rota airport’s enplanement cost.

For its part, Tinian airport spent $21.09 to enplane each passenger in FY 2004, saving $4.43 per passenger when compared with FY 2003.

The cost reduction became possible despite the almost $30,000 increase in the airport’s operating expenses. The airport recorded 25-percent increase in departures during the same period.