With the gradual easing of the COVID restrictions in the country, the aviation sector is on the cusp of reviving its flight business. To ensure that the path to recovery is not riddled with roadblocks, the Department of Air Transport conducted a day-long mock emergency at the Paro International Airport on Tuesday.
An aircraft engulfed in flames was staged at the Paro International Airport as part of the mock emergency. A minute later, the pulsating sounds of the fire engine and the ambulance were heard.
And in no time, the firefighters took charge to extinguish the blaze.
The mock drill gave the emergency responders and health staff first-hand experience in evacuation and attending to the victims. The staged emergency at the airport made these officials evacuate 45 passengers and seven crew members on board. The security and airport officials also learnt how to deal with the families of the affected passengers who are expected to rush to the reception centre in the airport during such a tragedy.
“There are 24 agencies involved at the Paro airport and there are over a thousand staff. In such emergencies, people will panic and things will fall apart,” said the Director-General of the Department of Air Transport with the information and communications ministry, Karma Wangchuk.
Highlighting the advantages of such tabletop exercises, the Director-General said that the mock emergency was organised to update efficiency and swift responses to aviation accidents.
This staged airport crisis was assessed by a team of observers, who would pinpoint the shortcomings to refine the Aerodrome Emergency Plan Manual.
“Compared to the previous mock drills, today’s exercise was flawless and went well. This was mainly because we corrected our errors from the past drills. Likewise, any mistake from the current exercise will be avoided in the next mock emergency,” he added.
Such an exercise will be replicated at three domestic airports in the country.
Now, considering the steady increase in flight frequencies, the two airliners in the country- Drukair and Bhutan Airlines say the mock emergency will help them cope with emergencies.
Two airline companies are breathing a sigh of relief following the ease of travel restrictions. However, they are predicting a long and hard journey for their business to rebound to the pre-COVID days.
Today, Drukair- the state-run airline operates at least four international flights a day including cargo and passenger flights.
The only privately-owned air company- Bhutan Airlines operates one round trip flight to Bangkok every Friday.
In the wake of the pandemic, the airline business took a major downturn.
During the grim pandemic period, the two airlines were forced to operate significantly reduced flight schedules. They operated only cargo and repatriation flights then.
Namgay Wangchuk, Paro
Edited by Pema Lhaden
