Namibia Airports Company (NAC) successfully completed a full-scale emergency exercise on Thursday afternoon at Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA).
The NAC has assured the public the incidents were entirely simulated, and posed or inflicted no danger or pain to passengers or any other personnel involved.
“The safety and security of all individuals involved were strictly prioritised throughout the exercise, which forms part of the airport’s emergency response procedures, coordination and overall readiness,” read an NAC statement. The emergency drill was simulated, involving a Fly Namibia aircraft with a bomb onboard, while a second and third incident involved a bomb threat and a hostage situation, respectively, inside the airport’s Terminal 2. The primary objective of these exercises was to test and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the airport’s emergency response procedures, coordination among various agencies, and the overall readiness of the airport’s personnel.
NAC CEO Bisey /Uirab expressed his satisfaction with the successful completion of the emergency drill.
“We remain grounded in our quest to ensure the safety and security of all our airports. As part of that commitment, we continuously coordinate various exercises to ensure that our level of readiness to respond to emergencies is top-notch. Airports today are the centre of attention and a very effective way of moving around the globe. Thus, procedures should be implemented to always make this space safe and secure. I’m glad we have done this exercise and from now on, we can work on issues identified to ensure we close those gaps as soon as possible,”
/Uirab stated.
The statement read that “the NAC appreciates the cooperation and commitment from various entities and agencies that took part in the emergency drill, and we do not doubt that it will foster greater response to emergencies at all our airports.”