Seaport revenues keep CPA afloat as airport struggles

The Commonwealth Ports Authority ended fiscal year 2025 with a modest surplus largely because strong seaport revenues continue to offset losses at the airport, CPA executive director Esther Ada told board members during their first meeting of 2026.

According to an unaudited financial report, CPA closed FY 2025 with a combined positive balance of $650,891, driven by a $4.46 million surplus from seaport operations, even as airport revenues declined sharply.

Airport revenues fell to $8.91 million, a 25% drop from fiscal year 2024, due mainly to reduced international flights and the temporary suspension of the Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program.

Ada acknowledged that the authority is now relying heavily on seaport income to cover airport operating shortfalls.

“Currently, CPA is relying on seaport revenues to subsidize airport operations, which continues to highlight our ongoing financial situation,” she said.

Bart Jackson, CPA’s newly elected chairman, agreed with Ada’s conclusion.

“In a time when there are fewer flights and there are fewer arrivals, it makes airports' financial condition very challenging, and the CNMI is no stranger to that, and not different. The airport is suffering financially and has. Although there have been past years when the airport has done extremely well, now is not one of those times,” he told the media during a break in the meeting.

Jackson said CPA is essentially a two-division authority, and the autonomous agency is fortunate that one side is carrying the load for the other.

“We have the airport side, and we have the seaport side. Luckily, the seaports are very profitable and continue to operate very well and very efficiently, but the airport is less so,” he said. “We're able to combine the operation and allow the profitability of the seaport to offset the challenges of the airport. Now, as we recover, the airport should once again, the goal is certainly for us, for the airport to be able to stand on its own. But that time has not come yet.”

Jackson said the financial imbalance highlights how critical seaport performance has become during the aviation sector’s slow recovery.

“As we are recovering, it’s great to have one of those divisions doing so well,” he added.

Despite the airport revenue decline, CPA reported cost-cutting measures that reduced airport expenses by 10% and seaport expenses by 9%, helping limit losses. For fiscal year 2026, CPA projects $12.6 million in airport revenues, but still expects an operating deficit of about $2.5 million. Seaport operations are projected to generate $8.1 million, which CPA officials said will again be used to stabilize overall finances.

The board also received an update on long-term infrastructure planning from Brady Nadell of WSP USA, the consultant leading CPA’s Terminal Infrastructure Master Plan, which covers all three airports and three seaports in the CNMI.

Nadell said the planning initiative is closely aligned with federal funding strategies and broader national security considerations, noting that because the work is funded through the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs, there is strong interest from the U.S. Department of Defense in how CPA facility upgrades support both military readiness and the CNMI’s economic needs.

Based on WSP’s assessments, Nadell said CPA’s airport and seaport facilities generally have sufficient capacity to meet future demand, but many assets require substantial rehabilitation to bring them into a proper state of repair.

He also updated the board on recent interagency meetings in Washington, D.C., where CPA, CNMI, and the governor’s office officials met with federal agencies to discuss infrastructure priorities, project costs, and potential funding pathways.