The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority has carried out an emergency simulation drill to test the response of Entebbe International Airport in case of any eventualities.
The drill simulated a situation in which an aircraft crashes shortly after takeoff and one of its engines catches fire on the threshold of the runway.
It was presumed that ‘some people lost their lives and a number of survivors were critically injured’, which sparked off an emergency situation involving airport fire-fighters and other rescue agencies that were called in to ‘save lives’.
“The exercise helped us to test emergency plans and procedures, communication framework, response times and coordination abilities of the participants,” said UCAA director general, Fred Bamwesigye.
He applauded stakeholders who participated in the exercise including Uganda Red Cross Society, Police Medical Services, Uganda Peoples Defense Air Force (UPDAF), Aviation Police, Entebbe Police Fire Brigade, national security agencies, Uganda Airlines, ground handling agents, volunteers who acted as injured passengers and UCAA staff, among others.
“The exercise, which has been successfully concluded is a mandatory requirement for international Airports of countries that are contracting member States of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).”
Bamwesigye said the last partial emergency exercise was held in December 2020 and the full-scale emergency exercise in November 2022.
