AAI Orders Full-Scale Emergency Drill At AP Airports
Health and medical authorities too will receive the alert and rush to the spot. They will evacuate the “injured passengers” to nearby hospitals, where doctors will start treating them.
VIJAYAWADA: Airports in Andhra Pradesh are preparing to conduct a “Full Scale Emergency Exercise” to check the preparedness of all stakeholders in case of an aircraft crashing. The exercise is to be carried out as per the directives of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in the aftermath of an Air India flight crashing in Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12.
As part of the emergency exercise, the airport authorities concerned will create the scenario of an aircraft crashing. The airport and government fire services will get the alert and rush with their fire tenders to the spot, where some fire will be started. Fire tenders will douse this fire.
Health and medical authorities too will receive the alert and rush to the spot. They will evacuate the “injured passengers” to nearby hospitals, where doctors will start treating them.
In the interim, police personnel will secure the entire premises of the crash site.
Airport authorities will open counters to give information about the status of passengers to the latter’s “panic-stricken” family members.
AAI officials say the scenario should look real, so that all stakeholder agencies realise the challenges they would face in an actual plane crash.
However, authorities are yet to get the requisite permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Airlines too have to show interest in taking part in the exercise.
As per AAI’s mandate, airports are expected to conduct such an exercise once in a year, apart from a “Table Top Exercise” once in six months. This means all heads of stakeholder departments, like fire, police, medical and health, will attend a meeting in a room for a thorough review about their preparedness in case of an emergency situation like the crash of a flight and the way of responding to it.
Vijayawada International Airport director M. Lakshmi Kanth Reddy said, “As per directions from AAI following the recent crash of an aircraft in Ahmedabad, we will hold a full scale emergency exercise by the end of June, even though the exercise is scheduled in November. This is to keep ourselves fully prepared for any emergency situation.”
The AAI has issued directions to all airports across India to carry out a full-scale emergency exercise of dealing with emergency situations at the airport involving aircrafts.
Andhra Pradesh has airports at Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Rajamahendravaram, Kadapa and Kurnool.
