High times: regional airports look to rise

BY OYAOL NGIRAIRIKL, GIFF JOHNSON, AND MARK RABAGO
Journal Staff, Correspondents

Airports in the Micronesia region are looking at updates, upgrades and modernization as they work to find the balance between functionality, safety and the facilities and services that many travelers have come to expect from a modern airport.

While separated by hundreds of thousands of miles, the airports in Palau, Guam, Saipan, and the Marshall Islands share some common challenges, including recovering aircraft operations to the pre-pandemic levels, according to Federal Aviation Administration officials.

“The lower passenger and aircraft operation levels have affected the revenue of the region’s airports. Some airports have issues covering overhead costs. Other challenges include the high improvement costs for airfields due to the remoteness of the airports in the region.  Finding, hiring, and training airport staff also has been a challenge for some airports,” said Sam Lichtman, public affairs specialist at FAA, in an email response to the Journal.

He said the FAA provides federal funding to help Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Compact States — Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia — with airport improvement and other needs to help the address some of those challenges.

The FAA provides federal funding in Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands through the Airport Improvement Program & Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Lichtman said.

“We also provide technical support such as airport planning, airport design, environmental, and airport construction. The FAA provides commercial airport oversight, along with air traffic control services,” he said.

Under each of the Compact of Free Association agreements, the FAA provides aviation safety services, including developing procedures and maintaining navigational equipment at each of the airports. The FAA also provides Airport Improvement Program funding and technical support/guidance to aviation personnel. The FAA works closely with each country to help them implement International Civil Aviation Organization standards and practices.

Lichtman also said the FAA coordinates the annual Aerodrome Workshop for airport information exchange and networking opportunities.  The workshop is conducted and hosted by one of the airports in the region. FAA subject matter experts present relevant airport operation-related topics. The next Aerodrome Workshop will be in April 2025 in Saipan.

This type of assistance is critical, officials from throughout the region told the Journal.

A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam

• Number of passengers: 2023 – 674,221; January-July 2024 – 775,414
• Parking spots: Approx. 315 public and accessible parking
• Capital improvements: Terminal roof replacement Phase II; terminal apron rehabilitation; airport microgrid feasibility study; cargo apron and fuel system extension, Phase 2; main gate improvements; passenger loading bridge rehabilitation/replacement; construction of noise mitigation measures for residences; runway lighting upgrades; public conveyance systems upgrade.
• Runway length: Runway 6L/24R – 12,014 feet; Runway 6R/24L —
• 10,014 feet
• Airlines: United Airlines, Japan Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Korean Airlines, Jin Air, Jeju Air, T’way Air and Star Marianas. Cargo operators include Asia Pacific Airlines, Federal Express and UPS.

A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam — Airports contribute greatly to the economic vitality of the regions they serve, Gary Hiles, chief economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, at the Guam Department of Labor, said. Through the airports in our region come U.S. Postal Services and other delivery services such as UPS and Federal Express. And then, of course, there’s tourism.

“Guam is almost wholly dependent on the air travel that supports all of tourism,” Hiles said.

While the various islands welcome some travelers via cruise ships, just about all other visitors arrive on planes. Hiles also said that due to geographic location, people in the region rely on air travel for medical purposes. On top of that, airports provide job opportunities directly for employees and indirectly for people who work for airport vendors, which is generally true of all airports.

In Guam, the airport also supports U.S. military operations as a secondary site. Not for the first time, the A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam was designated a support location for Valiant Shield 2024 that took place in Guam and Micronesia in June.

“Guam International Airport runways and taxiways are a vital piece of infrastructure supporting not only commercial aviation, but a critical alternate or divert location for Andersen Airfield,” John M. Quinata, executive manager of GIAA; said in a press release regarding the support.

As of July, GIA has served more than 776,900 passengers who either remained in Guam as a destination or transited through the airport.

All this activity has helped not only fund airport operations but also has had an impact on the island’s economy, officials said.

Overall, GIA has infused as much as $2.3 billion in direct, indirect and induced contributions into Guam’s economy annually, according to Rolenda Fa’asumali’e, marketing administrator for GIAA, referencing the Leigh Fisher Economic Contribution Study, A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam, June 2016.

In August, the GIAA board of directors approved a $56.9 million budget for fiscal 2025. That’s a slight increase of about half a million dollars from the fiscal 2024 budget of $56.4 million. Budget revenues come from a mix of fees and rentals from airlines and vendors. Those revenues help pay for GIAA’s employees, which was reported as 236 in the 2023 Citizen Centric report.

Revenue into the economy also flows from repairs and capital improvement projects at the airport.

GIAA officials are still planning exterior wall painting, repair of the main terminal building and terminal floor replacement following Typhoon Mawar. These projects are in various stages of the procurement process.

With respect to safety, GIA was the first airport in the region to receive approval of the Transportation Security Administration Aviation Workers Screening Program, which is designed to deter insider threats at airports across the country.

GIAA was the first airport to fully implement the AWS program within TSA’s Pacific Area of Responsibility, which includes Hawaii, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. The new mandate required airport police to implement a screening process at aviation worker entry points at the terminal.

In calendar year 2022, GIAA saw 425,651 passengers enplane, according to FAA data. That wasn’t the only increase for Guam. The Andersen Air Force Base saw an increase from 8,410 enplanements in 2021 to 14,159 in 2022.

Palau International Airport

• Number of passengers: 41,227 (2023); 23,634 (January-May 2024)
• Number of parking spots: Approx. 160
• Capital improvements: Runway sealcoat and markings improvement project; runway safety area and drainage improvement project; vehicle maintenance facility construction
• Runway length: 7,200 feet by 150 feet
• Airlines: United Airlines; China Airlines; Pacific Mission Aviation; Cambodia Angkor Airways and
• Batik Air.

Palau International Airport — The Palau International Airport is unique from other regional airports in that it is run through the International Airport Corp., a public private partnership. Shareholders of the corporation are the Japan Airport Management Partners Co. Ltd, 51%, and Palau, 49%. The joint venture was agreed on Aug. 7, 2017.

As part of the agreement, about $40 million in renovations was made to upgrade the airport, primarily in the departure area, though the number of jetways remained at three.

Looking forward, Palau officials have been talking with various partners about extending the airport runway. Like Guam, Palau’s airport supports U.S. military exercises. The airport has one runway with an asphalt and concrete surface that measures 7,200 by 150 feet. A longer runway means larger military and commercial planes can land in Palau.

“It could dramatically increase tourism when 777s or 787s are able to land in Palau,” said Charles Obichang, Palau’s minister of Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Industry. He said Palau is in a better position to serve as a hub for cargo, which would fall in line with efforts to invigorate and expand Palau’s fishing industry.

The airport handles about 200,000 passenger movements per year, and operates about 30 flights a week, according to officials.

Palau has several airlines that, with consistent lobbying from Palau officials, are increasing frequency. United Airlines was the first to restart flights after the borders were reopened following the COVID pandemic. What began as a couple of flights a week on a 737-800 is now six days a week to Guam and two flights to Manila.

China Airlines flies in three times a week on an A-321, PMA has a once-a-week flight on a King Air, and Nauru Airlines flies a 737-700/300 to connect Palau to Brisbane as well as Tarawa, Majuro and Pohnpei on the island hopper. There are also seasonal charters from Cambodia Angkor Airways and Batik Air.

Peter Polloi, airport manager, said priorities for the coming fiscal year include infrastructure improvements, certification and training, and continued efforts to increase flights. The airport is anticipating direct flights to Korea and Japan in the coming months.

Inside the airport there have been renovations to help upgrade visitors’ experience. Upon arriving, visitors are asked to sign the Palau pledge. Palau is the first country to adopt into its immigration laws the pledge that focuses on environmental protection.

Palau officials have touted a steady increase in arrivals, though the numbers still fall short of pre-COVID. Within the first five months of this year, the nation surpassed tourism arrivals numbers compared to last year.

“The hope is we reach near pre-COVID numbers, at around 80,000 tourists, this year and continue to build from there,” Kadoi Ruluked, managing director of the Palau Visitors Authority; previously told the Journal. Upcoming events related to the nation’s 30th Independence Day on Oct. 1 are part of the plan to raise numbers.

To give visitors a visual treat upon arrival, the island nation recently welcomed renowned mural artist Miyazaki Kensuke who painted murals in the airport’s departure and arrival lobbies as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between Palau and Japan.

Airport management also added a VIP lounge where departing visitors can enjoy drinks and food while awaiting flights.

Amata Kabua International Airport

• Number of passengers 2023: 20,400 (approx.)
• Number of parking spots: 70
• Capital improvements: Construction of temporary terminal as theold terminal is demolished and a new terminal built; construction of a two-story parking structure, and cargo facilities for United Airlines, Nauru Airlines and Air Marshall Islands; repavement of the airport runway and apron areas and installation of refueling pipes.
• Runway length: 7,913 feet long, 150 feet wide
• Airlines: United Airlines, Nauru Airlines, Asia Pacific Airlines, and Air Marshall Islands

Amata Kabua International Airport — While all the airports in the United States-affiliated islands of the North Pacific have had new terminals built or major improvements to existing ones made in recent times, Majuro’s Amata Kabua International Airport remains a vestige of the past, still using a now-dilapidated terminal first opened more than 50 years ago.

The good news is Japan is preparing to fund a new airport terminal, and detailed design work is moving forward. The U.S. government is also funding a temporary terminal that will be used while the old terminal is demolished and a new one built and will become part of the AKIA airport terminal complex.

“It’s a four-phase project,” said Thomas Maddison, executive director of the Marshall Islands Ports Authority. Japan is working on the design phase, which is expected to be completed in mid-2025 with the cost estimates for a new terminal. Other parts of planned improvements include a temporary terminal, a two-story parking structure, and cargo facilities for United Airlines, Nauru Airlines and Air Marshall Islands.

In addition to the terminal plan, the Federal Aviation Administration, which has injected tens of millions of dollars into infrastructure at the airport over the past 15 years, is pumping in another $34 million in a two-phase project to repave the airport runway and apron areas and install refueling pipes. Ground was broken for the new work in May. Pacific International Inc. is the contractor for the paving.

The AKIA facility is in a transition that will see the demolition of the existing airport, built in 1972, and the building of a new facility. Both the paving work and the new airport terminal will improve the Majuro airport for flight safety and passenger comfort.

Maddison acknowledged that the new terminal, if it’s approved by Japan following completion of the detailed design plan and cost estimate now in progress, will take time to complete. He said if the project moves ahead as planned, it is unlikely to begin construction until 2026 or 2027.

While the “watch this space” situation in play today means a brighter future for the old and deteriorating terminal, its condition has caused disruptions in air service and forced the Marshall Islands Ports Authority to investment hundreds of thousands of dollars in stopgap renovations to improve the facility.

When Majuro’s airport was first opened, in 1972, the Marshall Islands was still part of the United Nations Trust Territory administered by the U.S. from Saipan. Continental Micronesia was the primary air service provider, with Air Nauru adding a South Pacific link during the 1970s. There was no domestic airline. The open-air airport terminal was perfect for its time, handling the small number of passengers who came through on Continental’s Island Hopper, in a facility cooled by lagoon breezes. But over the decades, the airport was partitioned by the addition of numerous offices, business kiosks, and revamped security and departure areas. The net result is a facility too small to accommodate the in and outflow of hundreds of passengers each day.

In January 2022, concern over safety of the terminal caused United Airlines to suspend service to Majuro for two months. The flight stoppage forced major renovations to address safety issues in the aging facility.

Marshall Islands Ports Authority statistics show that passenger numbers jumped significantly after United added a fourth weekly Island Hopper flight in June 2023. Outbound passenger numbers moved from around 1,000 per month in early 2023 to more than 1,700 by the end of the year. This year, through July, between United Airlines and Nauru Airlines, AKIA is seeing an average of 1,863 passengers outbound per month. Inbound numbers were not available.

Outbound passenger numbers also reflect the many Marshall Islanders migrating to the United States. The 2021 national census showed the Marshall Islands population had plummeted from 53,000 to 42,000 in 10 years. A U.S. Census Bureau update issued in 2022 showed more than 38,000 Marshall Islanders living in the U.S.

Nauru Airlines, since resuming service to Majuro post-Covid in late 2022, has seen its passenger number increase from 65 per month to 342 in July this year.

Use of AKIA by air carriers and passengers has increased the past two years, as have the number of ferry flights and military planes using the airport. Majuro has always been called “the gateway to Micronesia.” Its geographic position between Hawaii and Asia places it ideally for ferry flights between the US and Guam, Asia and Australia.

Ferry flights rose 60% from 2021 to 2094, from 152 to 258 in the first nine months of fiscal 2024. Military flights similarly increased in usage, from 29 in 2021 to 78 through July.

Reflecting the growth in use of the airport, the ports authority annual operating revenue has been increasing. In 2021, it was $645,934. The current fiscal year ending Sept. 30 the budget is $1,030,135, according to Ports Authority budget information.

Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport

• Number of passengers 2023: 219,460
• Capital improvements: Recently renovated restrooms, drainage and roof improvements; expanding parking lot; upgrading Pacific Region ARFF Training Center and rehabilitating the runway.  The international terminal has received a new facelift and the parking lot will soon be expanded. CPA has also procured two additional 1,500-gallon ARFF vehicles and a runway sweeper for the airport and is working on rehabilitating its taxiways and passenger loading bridges.  Majority of CPA’s projects are funded through grants from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Improvement Program.
• Runway length: 8,700 feet long, 150 feet wide with a parallel taxiway and connecting taxiways.
• Airlines: United Airlines; Jeju Air; Hong Kong Airlines; T’Way Air; Star Marianas Air, Inc. ; and Micronesian Air Cargo Services

Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport — The airport division of the Commonwealth Ports Authority is grasping at straws as the confluence of events like Super Typhoon Yutu and the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in low passenger volume, causing it to have lower revenue streams.

Leo Tudela, executive director of the ports authority; said the current passenger load is not the same as before COVID-19 and Super Typhoon Yutu.

According to Zack Diaz, internal auditor at CPA, the number of passengers that pass through the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, the NMI’s main airport, is on an upward trend the past couple of fiscal years. The numbers, however, are still a shadow of visitor arrivals before the COVID lockdown. In 2019, officials reported visitor arrivals to NMI at 487,008 passengers.

“So, based on our statistics, for FY 2021, passenger arrival totaled 15,920. For FY 2022, passenger arrivals totaled 93,108. For 2023, passenger arrivals totaled 219,460 and for fiscal year 2024 as of June 2024, total passenger arrivals were 192,390,” he said.


CPA is an autonomous agency of the NMI government, and its operational funds are completely dependent on aviation and non-aviation operations, essentially money it collects from airport and seaport fees and concessionaire fees, among others.

Six airlines fly into the Northern Mariana Islands. Of the six, only United Airlines is a major carrier while Jeju Air, T’Way Air, and Hong Kong Airlines are considered budget carriers. Star Marianas and MACS are inter-island hoppers with the latter more of in the cargo business.

With only United Airlines as a major carrier, LSG Sky Chef, a CPA tenant that caters meals, has less business. Also, with budget carriers dominating the NMI’s skies, the present tourism market may not spend as much on luxury items, which also results in lower sales for another CPA tenant, DFS Galleria.

Joy Tenorio, lease compliance officer at CPA said, “There's a shift in our clientele from — I don't know if the right word is signatory —business class and the food and all that, to low-cost carriers. The accommodations on the aircraft are not the same, which affects our tenants like LSG and possibly DFS with different customers,” said Tenorio.

With the changes in passenger demographics, Tenorio said LSG Sky Chefs and DFS Galleria have approached CPA for reduced fees on their lease contracts.

While money from American Rescue Plan Act helped keep CPA’s head above water during the pandemic and post-COVID years, Wendi Prater, administrator for CPA’s Capital Improvement Plan; said those funds won’t be available for operations moving forward.

CPA comptroller Sheryl Sizemore said the challenges facing CPA have affected its earnings the past several years.

“Without giving out numbers that are not yet approved, our budget definitely is not as robust as it has been in the past. There are a number of factors in play right now...” she said.

Ballpark figures of CPA’s budget the past three years provided by Sizemore was $6.257 million in 2022, $6.266 million in 2023, and $11.9 million in 2024. The latter was buoyed by grants from ARPA and Federal Aviation Administration.

“CPA is in the middle of the road here. The revenue is not enough coming in to sustain CPA. So, we are looking for some ways to find revenue to come in to assist us, to sustain us. We are OK now, but coming fiscal year 2025 is a little bit different numbers, different subjects... So, we are trying our best to be sustainable and to get some revenue,” Tudela said.

To this end, the CPA chief is looking at the FAA for some assistance and also perhaps some monies from the U.S. Department of Defense.

“As of last year, we had a lot of military exercises going on Tinian and they’re using CPA resources and of course nothing is free in this world. … What I’m trying to say is I want to work with the military. We love the military to come. Tourists are down and maybe with the military coming, maybe we could get some help from the miliary in a sense of revenue or whatever. I don’t know the rules and regulations whether they need to pay landing fee, parking fee, or whatever. We’ll look into that and possibly work with the military as much as possible to help us out,” Tudela said.

The Saipan airport saw 58,382 enplanements in fiscal 2021, according to FAA data acquired by the Journal. That number grew to 162,909 enplanements in fiscal 2022.

There was also increased enplanements in 2022, compared to 2021, for the airports in Tinian and Rota. In 2022, the Francisco Manglona Borja/Tinian International Airport saw 26,926 enplanements and the Benjamin Taisacan Manglona International Airport saw 11,307 enplanements — both an increase from the 24,169 and 9,094, respectively, in fiscal 2021.

Currently, Prater said DoD hasn’t paid CPA for the use of its facilities, as the use hasn’t reached the threshold where DoD have to pay.

CPA also can potentially get some financial relief if it finally settles its ongoing dispute with Star Marianas on unpaid airport fees now amounting to more than $1 million.

Tudela said CPA has been talking to Star Marianas. “ For the sake of the people of Tinian, Rota, and Saipan, this commuter service is very, very essential to our people. It’s a lifeline for medical referral, medicine, and everything else. It’s a lifeline for transportation, communication, and for people on medevac,” he said.

Star Marianas earlier threatened to pull the plug on its operations by Oct. 15, if it is not afforded relief on the disputed over $1 million airport fees being charged by CPA, but after meeting with Gov. Arnold I. Palacios in late August withdrew its notice of intent to terminate air service.

Tudela said CPA had preliminary discussions with other airlines to service the inter-island routes if Star Marianas made good its threat to cease operations.

Jose “Joe” C. Ayuyu, the owner/operator and president of McDonald's of Guam and Saipan and chairman of the CPA board; said Star Marianas cannot simply refuse to pay CPA and continue using its facilities to the detriment of the NMI’s coffers.

“I have to acknowledge that Star Marianas has been serving our islands for many, many years. And I think they do a good job. But at the same time just like me I’m doing a good job in my business, but if I owe somebody, I have to take care of that one, he said.

Ayuyu said he wishes that NMI stakeholders — specifically hotels — not depend too much on the Marianas Visitors Authority to market the destination as they have to do the selling themselves to sister hotels and companies in their home countries.

Ayuyu also suggested marketing the NMI to big companies in South Korea, Japan, and other tourism markets as a sort of holiday or vacation incentive for high-performing employees.

Information on airports in the Federated States of Micronesia had not been received before the Journal went to press. mbj