Airport security exercise hits the mark
FEARS were quickly allayed after police and airport officials confirmed that a strong emergency services presence at the Richards Bay Airport on Wednesday was part of a security exercise.
As the road to the airport was closed to the public, concerned residents believed a serious emergency situation or possible protest action was under way at the facility.
Richards Bay Airport Manager Oscar Nzima said it was normal procedure for access points to the airport to be closed while safety and security simulations took place.
This was done to avoid outside interference while emergency services did their work.
‘The purpose of this exercise was to test the airport’s readiness in the event of an emergency and the external support services’ response.
‘We have had other simulation exercises before, such as a simulated plane crash, but in this exercise we concealed an explosive device,’ said Nzima.
The device was detected at the X-ray machine and none of the internal or external services were aware that it was an exercise. They responded in the belief the bomb threat was real.
Nzima said the exercise proved to be a success and the operation was completed under an hour-anda-half from the time the alarm was activated.
This included evacuation of all staff, police units ‘disarming’ the explosive device, law enforcement and emergency services combing the area for other possible threats before declaring the area safe to resume operations.
The Richards Bay Fire Department, City of uMhlathuze traffic department, various SAPS units, including the K-9 unit, explosives, search and rescue teams and crime scene investigators were involved in the operation.