Entebbe airport fully prepared to handle any emergencies – Bamwesigye
Redcross members carrying injured passenger in a chopper at Entebbe airport where a mocked accident was staged. Photo / Eve Muganga.
What you need to know:
- The two hour accident drill held Friday morning involved simulation of a “TIDA Airlines” (not real name) plane with 250 passengers and crew on board veered off the runway and caught fire while landing.
In order to test the preparedness of the Airport’s emergency response in case of an aircraft accident, Entebbe International Airport’s management has organized “a full scale exercise.”
The two hour accident drill held Friday morning involved simulation of a “TIDA Airlines” (not real name) plane with 250 passengers and crew on board veered off the runway and caught fire while landing.
According to a statement from the airport management, the exercise assumed that 30 people lost their lives and 40 of the survivors were critically injured sparking off an emergency situation in which fire fighters and all the other rescue agencies swung into action to save lives.
In response to the staged exercise, the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority’s firefighting and rescue services personnel put down the “ensuing fire” while medics from various hospitals were summoned and they promptly responded .
Several ambulances and medical staff went to the scene and rescued the “victims, rushing the critically injured ones to Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital and other hospitals in Kampala.
Several stakeholders who participated in the mock-exercise include; Uganda Airlines, MUNUSCO, Aviation police, national security agencies, UCAA, and volunteers who acted as injured passengers among others.
UCAA Director General Mr Fred Bamwesigye said that 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) to conduct such emergency preparedness exercises on a regular basis so as to rehearse and perfect rescue efforts in the unfortunate occurrence of an accident.
He noted that there has been a positive surge in passenger traffic and aircraft movements at Entebbe International Airport since September.
“Entebbe Airport facilitated 63,997 arrivals and 80,112 departures, a total of 144,089 international passengers in September 2022, which is an average of 4,802 passengers per day. In relation to cargo, imports were 1,620 metric tons and exports were 3,211 metric tons in September 2022,” he said.
