Officials from HIA and other government agencies during the emergency exercise.
Hamad International Airport (HIA) has successfully conducted its Emergency Exercise ‘Delta Oryx 2017’.
Delta Oryx 2017 was the first HIA emergency exercise that placed focus on testing the airport’s preparedness for handling an aircraft accident outside of airport premises, simulating a crash landing into the sea. The scale, complexity and realism of the activity were carefully designed to bring to light any latent deficiency or gap in the emergency facilities at HIA and throughout Qatar.
The emergency simulation included the use of a 30-seater mock aircraft, 2 Qatar Airways aircraft chutes, 170 volunteer passengers, 60 volunteer family members and friends, 39 dummies to display casualties, 40 ambulance response vehicles, 3 military helicopters, 5 airport safety and security vehicles and 10 Mowasalat buses.
The exercise also tested specialized forces’ arrangements for rescue at sea including the Coastguard, Internal Security Forces, Qatar Navy and the Qatar Emiri Air Force.
Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at Hamad International Airport, said: “We at HIA strive for excellence in everything we do, including our preparedness in a crisis, which is why this exercise, being HIA’s third full-scale exercise, simulated an aircraft incident at sea, not within the confines of the airport.
The HIA emergency exercises have grown to become joint national exercises involving all major ministries, government agencies and stakeholders. Delta Oryx 2017 is the product of many hours of planning, preparation and hard work from all our stakeholders and partners and I extend our sincere gratitude to them all.”
