Armando Navarro is the Manager of Operations for InterAirports. He says everything that has been said against the company is motivated by individual interests.

REVISTAZO: What will happen with SFO Enterprises now that the operator is changing?
NAVARRO: It will leave the country, nothing more, and Vancouver will come in. The concession contract includes requirements guiding the change of operator, and the new operator should meet them.

REVISTAZO: Why did you decide to change the international operator?
NAVARRO: The San Francisco Airports has suffered a decrease in passengers and operations because of SARS and September 11. The San Francisco airport is one of the ports of entry from Asia, so their earnings and resources began to dip and they have had to lay off personnel. So they are not going to be able to continue supporting the 5 or 6 personnel they had dedicated to the Honduran airports. In order to avoid reducing service, it is better to step down, and that is covered in the contract.

REVISTAZO: Why did they choose Vancouver?
NAVARRO: Vancouver is already known in Honduras. It was among the finalists for the concession, one that was accepted by the Honduran government. The government has already investigated all their activities and accepted them, so it was easy to go with the operator who was already known in the country instead of one who would need to go through a lengthy investigative process with the government. It's just a lot easier now. Besides, Vancouver is well known as the operator of many airports and it has the necessary experience.

REVISTAZO: What kind of experience does Vancouver have?
NAVARRO: They manage airports in Chile, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and they several in the Antilles.

REVISTAZO: Have they had success in these airports?
NAVARRO: Of course.

REVISTAZO: How will Honduras benefit by the change of operator?
NAVARRO: This company has more airports than San Francisco does. It also has experience in small airports, because many times the problems in large airports are different than in small airports. In a large airport you work on a large scale and when there are many resources is easy to administer the airport well, but when there are few resources it is more difficult to administer the airport to get the same results. So Vancouver manages small airports as well.

REVISTAZO: Is that different from San Francisco Enterprises?
NAVARRO: Well, it's relative. I am with San Francisco and I have 41 years experience managing many airports. I was with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for 22 years giving technical assistance like I said before to airports in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia-where I spent 5 years-and Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador.

REVISTAZO: So there are not big differences between San Francisco and Vancouver?
NAVARRO: In civil aviation, it is not so much about what happens more to one operator than to another. Everything is so regulated that the difference is in knowing or not knowing how to apply the international norms necessary for operation, and that too is regulated by ICAO. 187 countries around the world operate in the same way. So what is the difference-this airport here is almost in the middle of the city. Most of the time most of the non-aeronautical income comes from the food concessions, and that is much lower here than it would be in an airport outside the city, like the airport in San Pedro Sula for example. People going to the airport do not need to eat there. There are many places to eat near the Tegucigalpa airport, and inside the airport there is even INGESA, which is not a concession of the airport, but even we go to eat there. So the non-aeronautical part is different, but the aeronautical part is regulated by the same norms as in the rest of the world.

REVISTAZO: Was there always an international operator here? Why has the press expressed so much doubt about this?
NAVARRO: I am not Honduran and I cannot speak knowledgeably about some things. But this is bad for the country, it is a morbid search for fallen trees where there are none. I have roots here, I have my residency, I have my certificate, I can show you my work permit. I have been here almost two years, and before that I was a Mexican. So we have a team that is assisted by San Francisco. Look at this document they sent to us (showing a binder labeled as an airport manual), and they have given us many other documents to work with, which did not cost Honduras anything, because it is all included in the concession contract. So when they say there are no transfers, that there is no operator, it pains me that the people lie like that.

REVISTAZO: But this began in San Francisco, when doubts began to be raised there?
NAVARRO: These are political problems. There is a journalist there who is not a good friend of the airport named Smith. I don't know him, but he has spread a very bad image of the airport. San Francisco (SFO Honduras) receives payment for its services. My secretary and I are paid from what they receive from San Francisco (SFO Enterprises). The car must be maintained, the salaries have to be paid here. We have an accountant, a lawyer. These are Hondurans they are paying.

REVISTAZO: We are not aware of any legal action against this journalist. If what he says is not true, why don't they take action against him?
NAVARRO: I do no live in San Francisco. I have residency here. They have those problems over there. Is like if Chiquita had problems in India. Let them fix their problem over there. Our problem is operating the airports. Another thing they say is that we do not have control over the airport. I have here a report from the manager of the airport, Juan Manuel Gálvez, in Roatán that says that there was a car with electrical problems. I already talked with Mauricio Hernández, the chief of maintenance here and today between 11:30 and 12:00 it will be back in service. The managers of the airports report to me every morning and they tell me what is going on, how many people are on shift, if there are problems. We as San Francisco have daily control. We are not making that up. You can look for yourselves. It is a shame that people spread information that is not true.

REVISTAZO: Is the City of San Francisco the owner of SFO?
NAVARRO: Yes, exactly, it is the 100% owner of the shares. And they formed an affiliate, San Francisco Honduras. This is permitted by the concession contract and by the Law for the Promotion of Private Investment and Infrastructure. No one is going to come to this country, form a company, present all the papers, participate in a bidding process with 10 or 12 other companies and do it all by themselves.

REVISTAZO: There has also been mention of "systematic robberies of the public treasury to finance SFO Honduras"?
NAVARRO: That can easily be disproved because InterAirports gives a sum of money each trimester to SFO Honduras for financing the services we offer in the country. So it is all self-sufficient.

REVISTAZO: One of the legal advisors to San Francisco Enterprises suggests the separation of capital . . . ?
NAVARRO: That won't be necessary now, because SFO Honduras will no longer be needed.

REVISTAZO: We were speculating that SFO Enterprises would want this separation because it does not want any problems here.
NAVARRO: That could be true. I won't say if it's good or bad. I will say that they have been honorable enough to say, look, we will not be able to follow through with this contract, but we will give you plenty of advance notice and during the transition period we will continue working in Honduras.

REVISTAZO: How long will it take for Vancouver to take over responsibility here?
NAVARRO: I think it could be within two months, but everything depends on the approval of Congress and if there is no decision to go to arbitration in London. No one really wants to have to go to arbitration, because no one would really win in this kind of process.

REVISTAZO: So you will be leaving this company within two months, since you are an employee of San Francisco?
NAVARRO: I suppose I will have to leave with San Francisco. But you know how it is in international work-I have worked in many international projects. I have worked for Vancouver before in Santiago de Chile and I know the people at Vancouver and their system. I think they are a good choice for InterAirports and for the country.

REVISTAZO: What will happen now with the subcontracts?
NAVARRO: They will continue like always. It is the same in all countries-the only thing that will change is the operator.

REVISTAZO: Does InterAirports have Honduran partners?
NAVARRO: There is a Honduran partner named Raúl Torres Lazo. He is a minority partner.

REVISTAZO: And he was the one who signed the contract?
NAVARRO: That made sense. If I come to a country I want to have someone local to show me how to manage an office here.

REVISTAZO: Torres Lazo is complaining. He says InterAirports owes him 500,000 dollars and does not want to pay him.
NAVARRO: That is a long story, and I don't know the details.

REVISTAZO: Can you comment on the idea that InterAirports was created to commit fraud?
NAVARRO: I think that is a very personal opinion, and it is up to the courts to decide if someone is guilty. If Torres Lazo has not gone to the courts, I do not know what his reasoning is. I would go to court and say look, this person Pedro Peralta is cheating me and I want him to give me my 500,000 dollars. But I would not go around talking and saying he owed my 500,000 dollars in public. That is just putting someone down.

REVISTAZO: And where are the other partners from?
NAVARRO: They are Portuguese, North American, Swiss, Peruvian.

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