Stansted Airport to hold major emergency exercise
More than 300 airport staff including the fire service, Essex Police, fire and ambulance crews from across the East of England, the British Red Cross and local authorities will be involved in Exercise Pterippus on Thursday, May 16.
Stansted’s new fleet of state-of-the-art Panther fire engines (above) will also be involved in the drill.
Adrian Battaini, Exercise Controller and the airport’s Business Continuity Manager, said: "The exercise presents a challenge you hope you would never actually have to experience in reality, but we have to regularly train and be confident we have the plans and procedures in place to deal with any emergency situation. I’d just like to reassure local residents and airport users that there’s no cause for concern if they see lots of emergency vehicles and blue lights on Thursday evening."
The exercise, which is required every two years by the Civil Aviation Authority, will simulate an incident between a helicopter and a passenger aircraft. To minimise disruption to the airport’s normal operations, the exercise will be carried out away from the main passenger terminal on a specialist training rig. Volunteers from the British Red Cross, local authorities and staff will play the role of casualties.
