Successful Completion of Aircraft Crash Off Airport Full-Scale Crash Exercise in Collaboration with the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (JBPM) At Kota Kinabalu International Airport
KOTA KINABALU- Malaysia Airports remains committed in ensuring the highest level of readiness of its airports after successfully completing the Aircraft Crash Off Airport Full-Scale Exercise that was held in collaboration with the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (JBPM) at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) today. This exercise which was led by the organisation’s Airport Fire and Rescue Services (AFRS) is part of the annual scheduled initiatives to ensure the readiness of its network of airports in the event of an air disaster and improve the communications between all agencies.
According to the acting group chief executive officer of Malaysia Airports, Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin, “Ensuring the safety of our passengers at all times is paramount. As an airport operator, it is our responsibility to always be tactically prepared in anticipating any emergency situations at the airport. We remain vigilant in playing our role to safeguard our airports as well as the wellbeing of our passengers and stakeholders. It is imperative for us to practice and manage this aspect of airport operations to the best of our abilities when facing crises.”
“As at August 2018, Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) had registered 5.7 million passengers, which is a 6.6% increase from the same period last year. With the numbers climbing every year, holding a full-scale exercise with the re-enaction of an air crash off the airport this time around is timely for the surrounding community. Infact, this full-scale exercise is the third one held this year. The earlier two were held at our airports in Melaka and Sandakan. Apart from that, we have also conducted partial scale exercises at 2 airports, table top exercises at 13 airports and fire drill exercises at 11 airports till date this year,” Azmi further added.
This Aircraft Crash Off Airport Full-Scale Exercise is carried out as per the Airport Emergency Plan (AEP), a documentation that encompasses contingency plans to achieve the coordinated actions through the defined guidelines of the general functions and responsibilities of the operational units at the airport, government agencies and airlines in the event of an airport emergency. The purpose of the AEP is in accordance with the provisions stated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 14, Chapter 9, where States are required to establish an emergency plan to commensurate with aircraft operations at the airport.
Prior to the full-scale exercise at KKIA, a 3-day seminar beginning from 1 October was executed to prepare participants with the knowledge and exposure before they finally get to witness and experience the simulation on the last day. The seminar discussed about the importance of ensuring all measures are guided by the guidelines, policies and mechanism outlined in the AEP. There were also sessions on the airport immediate emergency response plan, air crash off-airport emergency plan, disaster management, airlines emergency response plan, hospital emergency response plan, disaster victim investigation, police procedures and as well as air disaster related hazardous chemical incident-handling. The related personnel also convened for a tabletop exercise to align various Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
More than 150 participants from various agencies such as the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (JBPM) and HAZMAT team, National Security Council (NSC), Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia (CAAM), National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH), Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), Malaysia Civil Defence Department (APM) and other agencies took part in the exercise alongside with airline and airport staff.