Aerodrome emergency plan during strategic exercise reviewed

Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the operator and managing body of Bahrain International Airport (BIA), conducted an Airport Crisis Management exercise for key airport stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of the Aerodrome Emergency Plan (AEP) and the role of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in the event of a crisis situation. Focused on a mock aircraft accident scenario, the discussion-based session helped to validate the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders during such incidents.

The exercise complements BAC’s bi-annual full emergency drill, which was last conducted in March 2019. In attendance were BAC Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah, other BAC team members, and representatives from Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) Airport Police, the Ministry of Health (MoH), Bahrain Airport Services (BAS), and Bahrain Aviation Fuelling Company (BAFCO).

Mr Al Binfalah expressed his gratitude to all the participants who took part in the exercise and said: “This exercise plays a key role in identifying strengths and areas for improvement in our emergency planning, and provides a ideal opportunity for us to assess our procedures before we transfer operations to the new Passenger Terminal Building and test the readiness of our plans.”

He added: “The Aerodrome Emergency Plan is an important mandate outlined in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Airport Services Manual (Doc 9137), Part 7, and Aerodrome Standards and Certifications Regulations issued by the Kingdom’s aviation regulator, Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs. “It sets procedures for co-ordinating the responses of different airport stakeholders in an emergency situation, which is crucial to saving lives, protecting the environment, and maintaining air traffic.

“By regularly conducting exercises such as this, and consistently reviewing best practices, we can ensure the airport community is well prepared to swiftly, calmly, and efficiently handle any potential incidents that may occur.” Based on participants’ feedback, the Aerodrome Emergency Plan will be updated to ensure BIA maintains the highest standards of safety and security.

The findings of this exercise will also enable BAC to refine the new Passenger Terminal Building’s emergency procedures even further, ensuring it operates in line with global aviation standards.