200 regional aviation official attending workshop

by Nick Delgado

Guam - Getting underway today was the Pacific Aviation Directors Workshop at the Westin. The conference brings together about 200 aviation officials from around the region including Palau, Yap, Chuuk , Hawaii, the CNMI and the Marshall Islands. Discussions are focusing around the theme "Aviation Safety Through International Leadership, Education and Marketing".

FAA regional administrator William Withycombe is on island to meet with island airport managers, along with his Western Pacific regional staff and the Airport District Office out of Honolulu. "The importance there for us is to focus on the safety aspects of the operations of their airports everything from firefighting, from day to day operations to avoid any incident or problems at their airports, so we bring to them technical support throughout the pacific and that's one of the key things the FAA is here for," he said.

According to newly appointed GIAA executive manager Charles Ada, the FAA will also be reviewing aviational technical operations, runway safety issues and enhancements which are funded.