Restricted airspace between Saipan and Tinian could add a \u201cwhole new level of complexity\u201d to civilian travel between the islands, according to local civilian carrier Star Marianas.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Department of Defense has proposed the establishment of eight of these restricted areas, \u201cto be activated independently, in multiple segments, or in total\u2014depending on where and what type of military activity\u201d is occurring.<\/p>\n
A restricted area denotes the existence of \u201cunusual, often invisible, hazards to aircraft\u201d like \u201cartillery firing, aerial gunnery or guided missiles,\u201d according to the Federal Aviation Administration<\/p>\n
In a recent interview, Star Marianas president Shaun Christian said these restricted areas would have a \u201cmajor impact on transportation between the two islands.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he doesn\u2019t see how it would be \u201crealistically feasible, given the realities with the distance between the two islands\u201d and \u201cthe type of aircraft that are economically efficient\u201d operating between Saipan and Tinian.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever they are looking as far as shutting airspace down is going to increase transportation times, which are going to drive up costs for customers and certainly impact the traveling public,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Star Marianas had issues with cloud clearances and maintaining a certain altitude that kept them within gliding distance from the shore in the past. \u201cThe realities of the weather patterns out here, the height of the clouds above the surface makes it so even though we have a standard routing, we oftentimes have to deviate from that standard routing in order to stay compliant with the cloud clearances, and altitudes for gliding distance from shore,\u201d Christian said.<\/p>\n
Right now, if there is weather moving in those travel corridors, he said, \u201cI can take off, turn, and fly out toward the west side of the Tinian to get around the rain squall and then be able to turn back into Saipan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just creates a whole new level of complexity in an already fairly complicated regulatory environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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