Hamad International Airport (HIA) successfully completed its fourth Full-Scale Emergency Exercise.
The exercise, ‘Oryx Golf 2019’, was conducted on the 21st of November at HIA with over 26 government agencies, partners and stakeholders including Qatar Airways Group, Airline Operators Committee-Doha, Airport Customs, Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation Facilities, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence, Civil Defense Department, National Command Center, Ministry of Transport & Communications and Qatar Civil Aviation Authority. The emergency exercise ‘Oryx Golf’ 2019 was arranged and orchestrated by HIA, in compliance with the requirements established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). HIA is responsible for ensuring that the Airport Management Systems and Emergency Preparedness meet the exact requirements of the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) Aerodrome Licensing Standards.
This year’s emergency exercise scenario was conducted differently to previous years. While previous years focused on aviation-specific incidents, this year’s exercise aimed at simulating a public health emergency incident at the airport to test its capabilities when dealing with public health emergency incident of international concern which included medical facilities throughout the State of Qatar. The exercise scenario involved a Qatar Airways inbound flight from a country that has been identified by the World Health Organisation with an Ebola Virus Disease outbreak. The said flight declared an emergency an hour before landing at HIA reporting one sick passenger onboard showing signs and symptoms of the Ebola Virus Disease.
The exercise involved Air Traffic Control, Aircraft Crew, Public Health Emergency Responders, MOI Airport Security, Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service, MOI Civil Defence, Emergency Operations Centre amongst others to test HIA’s crisis readiness and effectiveness of communications, responses, procedures and designated facilities for the Public Health Emergency Incidents. The exercise aimed to also measure how well the different stakeholders coordinated together to ensure the best crisis management procedures are implemented.
Commenting on the successful completion of the Emergency Exercise, Mr. Ian Metsovitis, Vice President of Operations at Hamad International Airport stated: “The accomplishment of the ‘Oryx Golf 2019’ exercise is a testament to our continued endeavour for operational excellence, ensuring the airport’s safety preparedness and continued coordination between our stakeholders remain at its best. With passengers at the heart of the HIA’s strategy, safety and security are central pillars for our airport operations”.
HIA is currently a candidate for the “Best Airport in the World” award by Skytrax 2020 Awards which also classified it as a five-star airport in 2017, making it one among only five other airports in the world and the only one in the Middle East to achieve this prestigious status. Currently holding the “Fourth-Best Airport in the World” and the “Best Airport in the Middle East” titles, HIA continuously works to improve all aspects of the passenger experience. The results of the Skytrax World Airport Awards will be announced in March 2020. Passengers can vote for HIA by visiting the Official Skytrax World Airport Survey website at: http://www.worldairportsurvey.com/Surveys/favorite_airport.html
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