A full evacuation exercise has taken place at Bahrain International Airport’s (BIA) new passenger terminal to demonstrate its readiness to handle a crisis scenario.
The operation, involving 1,000 participants, two ambulances and three fire trucks, was staged by Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) and its partners and is mandatory for all airports.
It plays a major role in improving safety by assessing the capabilities, readiness and effectiveness of emergency and rescue services.
#Bahrain Airport Company and its partners marked the successful conclusion of a Full Evacuation & Repopulation trial at Bahrain International Airport’s new Passenger Terminal, demonstrating their readiness to handle a crisis scenario. pic.twitter.com/94sqIWLPHf
— Bahrain Airport (@BahrainAirport) January 18, 2021
The mock crisis simulation was centred on a fire breaking out in the baggage handling services meeting room.
An evacuation alert was activated and teams from BAC, the Interior Ministry, National Ambulance and Civil Defence took co-ordinated action to clear all trial-participating passengers and staff members from the terminal.
BAC chief executive Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah said: “I would like to thank everyone involved in this exercise for handling the scenario swiftly, efficiently and with the highest levels of professionalism.
“The exercise provided an excellent opportunity for us to assess our emergency procedures and co-ordination before the transfer of operations to the new terminal on January 28. It also demonstrated that the airport community is fully prepared to handle crisis incidents that may occur.”
Rescue and Fire Fighting Services (RFFS) acting director Mohamed AlSayed said: “BAC is committed to the safety of passengers and staff at BIA and has made a number of improvements to the airport’s infrastructure and services as part of the Airport Modernisation Programme.
Emergencies
“A new airside fire station was opened in 2017 to provide first response services to all aircraft emergencies and fire alarm activations within the airport boundary. Our highly-skilled RFFS team has undergone extensive training, enabling us to respond promptly whenever our services are needed.”
BAC team members moderated the exercise, which saw multiple observers and safety officers, assigned by the fire department, positioned throughout the terminal. At the end of the exercise, participants and stakeholders were invited to share their feedback and any suggestions for improvement.
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