Earlier this year, Simple Flying took a look at some of the different strategies that are used by airports around the world to ensure that they are prepared for any given emergency situation. Now, a recent case study from Ireland has given us an opportunity to dive deeper into one of these, namely the use of simulated incidents.


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Exercise Charlie

The drill took place on November 7th at Ireland’s Shannon Airport (SNN), which ranks as the country’s third busiest according to the Central Statistics Office. Lasting two hours under the codename Exercise Charlie, the incident simulation was designed, as the airport states, to “test the responsiveness of agencies in case of a future emergency at the airport.” But what exactly did the drill entail?

In this instance, the emergency services that were taking part in the simulation had to deal with a slight that had diverted under dangerous circumstances. The drill dictated that the flight in question was a transatlantic cargo service from Paris to New York that had to touch down prematurely due to illness among the crew.

Emergency Services Workers Getting Reading In Protective Suits.

Photo: Shannon Airport

As an added stipulation, the reason for the illness in the scenario was suspected to be leaking hazardous cargo, which, despite being located at the plane’s rear, had permeated through to the crew. With this in mind, as pictured above, those involved in Exercise Charlie had to don special protective suits, just as they would in an actual emergency with parameters such as these.

A successful simulation

The exercise also allowed the teams involved to learn from one another by working with groups they might not usually come into contact with. As well as the emergency services, participants from Shannon Airport, AirNav Ireland, the Health Service Executive, Shannon Foynes Port Company, and the Irish Defence Forces were also present. Shannon Airport Director Niall Kearns stated that:

“The major incident training exercise was a huge success, and we were delighted with how well all participants worked together throughout. Safety is paramount to us here in Shannon, and a multi-agency exercise like this allows us to assess our readiness for any incident that may occur in real life, and that our team here and our partner agencies are ready to respond.”

Emergency Services Workers In An Aircraft During A Training Exercise.

Photo: Shannon Airport

As pictured above, some participants got a rather immersive experience as they entered the aircraft’s cargo hold head-to-toe in protective gear. The experience of the day will likely live long in their memories, although it won’t be too long before the next simulated incident looms on the horizon. Kearns explains that:

These exercises are carried out every two years and based on a specific fictitious incident here, as part of our aerodrome certification. It was a fantastic opportunity to work with our colleagues in the local council, HSE, Gardaí, the Coast Guard, the Defence Forces, Shannon Foynes Port, and AirNav Ireland, and test our response to emergency situations.”

Airport operations ran smoothly despite the exercise

As is now evident, the exercise was a relatively large-scale one, with a myriad of different agencies involved. Despite this, passengers traveling to and from Shannon Airport on the day while it was happening between 10:30 and 12:30 might not have even noticed it. Indeed, the airport confirmed that “it was business as usual throughout the exercise, with no disruption to flights or passengers.

What do you make of these exercises? Have you ever seen one on your travels? Let us know our thoughts and experiences in the comments!

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