Austrian Wings, online magazine, November 18, 2023
How to optimally cooperate with authorities, emergency services and rescue organizations, and companies in an emergency was recently trained in a large-scale crisis exercise at Vienna Airport.
The exercise scenario involved dealing with an airline passenger on board an aircraft who had been diagnosed with a highly infectious disease. The exercise involved training on which measures to take on board and after landing, how to coordinate with the authorities and emergency services, and the potential impact such an incident can have on operational processes. Participants included the Lower Austria State Health Directorate, the Bruck an der Leitha District Authority, the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department of Lower Austria, the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, Vienna Airport AG, Austrian Airlines, the Lower Austria Emergency Call Center, the Lower Austria Special Infection Control and Support Unit of the Austrian Red Cross and the Austrian Workers' Samaritan Federation, the Schwechat City Police Command, the Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital, and the City of Vienna's Hygiene Center. The exercise took place from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on board an Austrian aircraft, on the airport apron, and in a designated terminal area. Around 80 people from all participating organizations were involved, including about 30 test passengers on board the aircraft.
"Crisis exercises like this take place regularly at Vienna Airport and are very important for practicing communication and cooperation with all involved organizations and partners. This ensures that everything runs smoothly in an emergency. We would like to thank all involved organizations, authorities, and partners for the excellent cooperation, which was successfully demonstrated in this exercise," said Julian Jäger and Günther Ofner, members of the Management Board of Flughafen Wien AG.
"Conducting crisis exercises is of great importance in the aviation industry. Various processes must be practiced to ensure smooth operations in the event of an emergency. Mistakes are not an option in our industry; seamless cooperation between all organizations is crucial. We therefore welcome and support the joint exercises of the Lower Austria regional organization, which simulate a fictitious crisis at Vienna Airport in close cooperation with various stakeholders. We are proud that Austrian Airlines is once again playing a significant role in the exercise this year," says Francesco Sciortino, COO of Austrian Airlines.
"For such special operations, Emergency Call Lower Austria supervisors and back office staff can set up mobile control center workstations anytime, anywhere, and put them into operation immediately. In crisis and emergency situations, we act as the communications hub and ensure smooth operations with state-of-the-art technology," say the two managing directors of Emergency Call Lower Austria, Christian Fohringer and Josef Schmoll.
Emergency and rescue organizations took over the patient and transferred him to the Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital (renamed "Klinik Favoriten" a few years ago at great expense, but the new name is rejected by most people), where further emergency procedures were practiced. The other passengers were cared for at the airport's emergency gates in accordance with the guidelines of the health authorities. To protect the emergency personnel, the patient was transported in a so-called BIO-BAG from EGO RESCUE .
Numerous organizations and authorities involved in the exercise
All responsible emergency organizations, authorities, and relevant companies participated in the crisis exercise: the Lower Austria State Health Directorate, the Bruck an der Leitha District Administration, the Fire Service and Civil Defense Department of the State of Lower Austria, the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, Vienna Airport AG, Austrian Airlines, the Lower Austria Emergency Call Center, the Lower Austria Special Infection Control and Support Unit of the Austrian Red Cross and the Austrian Workers' Samaritan Federation, the Schwechat City Police Command, the Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital, and the City of Vienna's Hygiene Center. A total of over 80 people were involved in the exercise. Vienna Airport thanks all participating organizations, authorities, and companies for their outstanding cooperation.
You can read the entire article here: https://www.austrianwings.info/2023/11/krisenuebung-am-flughafen-wien/