Successful Completion of Full-Scale Aircraft Crash Exercise At KL International Airport
SEPANG- Malaysia Airports remains committed in ensuring the highest level of readiness of its airports after successfully completing its Full-Scale Aircraft Crash Exercise that was held at KL International Airport (KLIA) 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 as well as to 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 September 2018, both terminals of KL International Airport (KLIA) had registered 44.7 million passengers, which is a 3.2% increase from the same period last year. With the numbers climbing every year, holding a full-scale exercise with the re-enactment of an air crash at the airport this time around is timely for the surrounding community. In fact, this full-scale exercise is the fifth one held this year. The earlier four were held at our airports in Melaka, Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. 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 Full-Scale Aircraft Crash 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 9.1, where States are required to establish an emergency plan to commensurate with aircraft operations at the airport and as well as Civil Aviation (Aerodrome Operations) Regulations 2016 for local.
Prior to the full-scale exercise at KLIA, a 1-day seminar was executed to prepare participants with the knowledge and exposure before experiencing the simulation. 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 on-airport emergency plan, disaster management, and traumatic medical emergency response plan. The related personnel also convened for a tabletop exercise to align various Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
More than 1,000 participants from various agencies such as the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (JBPM), Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia (CAAM), National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA), SMART Selangor, Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH), Emirates Airline, Malaysia Civil Defence Department (APM), Airline Operators Committee (AOC) and Department of Information (JaPEN) took part in the exercise alongside with airport staff.