Effective March 27, there will be no direct international flights arriving into the CNMI, the Commonwealth Ports Authority announced this week.
Also, beginning April 1, there will be no scheduled flights arriving from China, Korea, and Japan, according to a report from the Marianas Variety.
CPA Executive Director Christopher S. Tenorio also informed the public in a memo that effective March 29 at 12 midnight, the Saipan International Airport will limit aircraft landing and flight operations to the hours between 8 a.m. and 12 noon daily except for emergencies only.
CPA said it has also been “receiving requests to suspend inter-island air travel except for cases of emergencies and cargo transportation for commodities and postal services.”
In a statement to the Variety, CPA said that “the authority to suspend travel in and out of the Commonwealth lies with U.S. Homeland Security and not the CNMI government.
CPA has been in communications with its federal partners to raise the government’s and community’s concerns regarding the impact of Covid-19 on the traveling public, health and safety of frontline employees at the ports, and the general welfare of the community.
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