Castries – Friday, October 18, 2013 – George F. L. Charles (GFLC) Airport held a simulated full scale exercise/simulation involving the crash of an aircraft carrying 50 persons, followed by an assessment of the emergency response of agencies at the facility in containing the resultant fire, treating the injured and coordination of the medical, fire and hospital responses. The simulation which is required by the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) and International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) must be carried out every two years to test the preparedness and response times of the various agencies involved.

“In accordance with international regulations, the airports carry out these simulation exercises every two years to provide an opportunity for individual training, agency cross-training so that we achieve a high level of collective preparedness. They also allow us to assess, validate, and update the airport emergency procedures. With our last one, we had some changes to make and this simulation provided us and the other response personnel with the opportunity to practice our response skills and equipment, test all aspects of the Security, Disaster Preparedness and Crisis Communication Plans and to test the Emergency/ Business Continuity Plan” stated Ms. Colindia Murray, Airport Manager, George F. L. Charles Airport.

The goal of the exercise was to establish a learning environment to familiarize the necessary agencies with the protocols in place for responding to a major aircraft disaster impacting the George F.L. Charles Airport. The simulation exercise focused on the emergency response to a medical disaster, resultant fire emanating from the aircraft, impacted airline response, safety and security issues and coordination of available resources to achieve maximum results.

The simulation was held in collaboration with the Central Police Station Traffic Department, Operations, Beat and Patrol Divisions, Special Services Unit (SSU), Victoria Hospital, National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), Police Marine Unit, Ministry of External Affairs, International Trade and Civil Aviation and St. Lucia Fire Service to test the response capabilities of the SLASPA personnel, students from the Vide Boutielle Secondary School who acted as the passengers and other supporting agencies.