Georgetown: In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) on Wednesday, staged its first ever full-scale medical emergency exercise, geared at assessing the airport’s response capabilities.
The exercise was carried out also to ensure the entity remains prepared to combat all challenges associated with COVID-19.
The airport’s Director of Operation, Andre Kellman explained that Wednesday’s exercise was the first time a medical simulation exercise was done. He said the airport has the required number of response staff which entails 42 fire fighters, two police officers and three medical personnel.
“And I want to say the lesson learnt is huge, I want to thank my critique team, there were four excellent, knowledgeable persons in the industry and we had them run an understanding of what we were doing. Now mind you it is the things that we can learn from what we didn’t do right so that if an eventuality happens, we are pretty prepared to know what to do. And this afternoon we did exactly that, we got it right, we knew exactly what we had to do. So, I want to thank you guys and girls for the assistance on the work we had this afternoon.”
The full-scale exercise was introduced in 2002 as part of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) tool that guarantees the safety, regularity and efficiency of the airport.
On November 1, 2019, the last full-scale exercise tested the airport’s capability to respond to an aircraft accident which involved approximately 300 persons.
This year, the airport decided to conduct a medical emergency exercise, which saw a domestic carrier landing at the CJIA with passengers who fell ill during the flight.
The exercise included the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), Guyana Police Force (GPF), Guyana Fire Service (GFS), Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), the Diamond Diagnostic Centre and the Airport Aviation Security Department.
The airport conducts several other simulation exercises year-round to prepare for any unforeseen situations.
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