CPA’s Carlos Salas is recipient of FAA award

Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Carlos Salas received on Friday the first-ever Herman C. Bliss Airports Partnership Award for his support of projects by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

FAA Western Pacific Region manager Mark McClardy and FAA Airports District Office manager Ron Simpson flew in from Honolulu to present the prestigious award to Salas. The brief awarding ceremony was attended by Gov. Juan N. Babauta and other elected officials, as well as CPA board members and staff.

McClardy said Salas was the first recipient of the award, which the FAA now plans to give annually to its partners in the Western Pacific airports.

Aside from the Partnership Award, FAA has also started granting the Airports Safety Award to groups or individuals who have made an outstanding job at improving security at their airports.

But unlike the Partnership Award, which has only one recipient every year, the Safety Award is presented to multiple recipients, McClardy said.

In receiving the award, Salas shared the credit with the CNMI government, CPA board and staff, airlines and concessionaires operating at the Saipan International Airport, and his family.

“The CPA is being recognized for its leadership in the accomplishment of several outstanding partnership initiatives in support of FAA in our efforts to enhance safety by improving airport infrastructure and emergency response capabilities throughout Micronesia,” according to the FAA.

FAA cited the following CPA-initiated projects as basis for the award:

• CPA has established the Pacific Region Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Training Academy at Saipan International Airport, the first certified ARFF training academy to be established in the western Pacific region;

• Even prior to establishing the Pacific Region ARFF Training Academy, CPA was providing firefighters from the Micronesia airports with initial and recurrent ARFF training;

• CPA has sent their ARFF trainers to Micronesia airports to conduct on-site training for airport firefighters, and mutual aid firefighters, in ARFF operations, tactics, and procedures;

• For the past two years, CPA has assisted the FAA Micronesia Technical Assistance Program in conducting airport emergency preparedness, incident command system, and table top training in preparation fro full-scale emergency disaster drills at Micronesia airports;

• Through a memorandum of agreement, crafted by CPA, they are taking the lead in management of a large ARFF vehicle acquisition contract that will provide ARFF vehicles and equipment for all the Micronesian airports;

• Also, through the agreement, CPA will be providing assistance to the Micronesia airports in the administration of the airport improvement program;

• During the 2005 Pacific Aviation Directors Workshop, CPA assisted the Honolulu Airports District Office in conducting an “AIP Next Steps” training session for the Micronesia airport representatives.