The Manila International Airport Authority is set to test its readiness to respond to an aircraft crash incident during the Crash Rescue Exercise 2023 to be held today, 4 August within the airside premises of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Airport authorities from ICAO member countries are expected to undertake a full-scale airport emergency drill every two years, followed by a smaller tabletop drill the following year. These are carried out to make sure that airport administrations are aware of the most recent suggestions made in the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices manuals.
This year’s crash rescue exercise will also gauge how well the current policies and practices outlined in the 8th edition of the MIAA Airport Emergency Plan adhere to the standards of the ICAO-SARPS.
Both the ICAO-SARPS and the MIAA-AEP specify organizational relationships and lines of authority between first and secondary responders as well as support groups, and they also outline how all operations should be coordinated in the event of an airport emergency.
These two documents also outline who is responsible for what in terms of carrying out particular responses to emergency situations at airports, for both organizations and individuals. The MIAA Rescue, Firefighting and Medical Units are the first to arrive at an emergency on the airport at NAIA.
MIAA officer-in-charge Bryan Co said that this year’s exercise is another first in the history of the MIAA because they will also simulate the management and handling of relatives of victims of the aircraft accident, something that has never been done before.
While rated as a Category IX airport, MIAA’s current rescue and firefighting capability is Category X compliant, making it ready to respond to an airport emergency involving an Airbus A380.
The acting airport chief added that with the support of highly skilled fire and rescue personnel, a medical team that is well-trained and experienced in aviation medicine, a fleet of modern firefighting and medical vehicles, pneumatic aircraft lifting systems, and various other rescue equipment, the MIAA Emergency Services department is at par with its counterparts in the region.
Co assured the public that during the CREX event there will be no flight disruptions and normal operations will continue smoothly during the conduct of the exercise.