Authorities conduct mock emergency drill at Sikkim's Pakyong airport to evaluate crisis management capabilities
A full-scale mock emergency exercise was conducted at Pakyong Airport near Sikkim's Gangtok on Friday to reinforce coordinated response mechanisms, PTI quoted officials as saying.
According to the details, the exercise was designed to simulate a real-time aircraft accident scenario and aimed at evaluating the airport's crisis management capabilities, following heightened awareness around aviation safety in the aftermath of the recent Ahmedabad crash, PTI quoted a statement by the Sikkim Information and Public Relations department as saying.
Organised under the supervision of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the exercise involved the coordinated participation of multiple agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Sikkim State Fire and Emergency Services, AAI Fire and Rescue personnel, staff from the local Primary Health Centre (PHC), and various district-level support agencies, it added.
The simulation tested not only the responsiveness and efficiency of each participating unit but also their ability to collaborate seamlessly under pressure, it said.
In the exercise, special emphasis was laid on inter-agency coordination, particularly between AAI's operational wings, including ATC and Fire Services, and external emergency units such as the State Fire Service and medical responders.
The objective was to ensure that all personnel are well-versed with their roles and responsibilities during a crisis situation and are able to function as a cohesive team, the statement said.
Spread over 201 acres, Pakyong Airport is a domestic airport serving Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. Prime Minister Narendra Modi operationalized it under the UDAN Scheme on 24 September 2018. However, commercial flight operations started on 4 October 2018.
The airport is one of the five highest airports in India and the first greenfield airport constructed in Northeast India. Before the construction of Pakyong Airport, Sikkim had been the sole state in India possessing no functional airport.
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