In a bid to respond to emergencies, the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority GCAA on Thursday organised a sensitisation training, meant to equip stakeholders on emergency responses, at a ceremony held at the Old Terminal building, at the Gambia International Airport.
The objective of the training was to create a platform for networking for effective rescue operations in instances of emergencies that may require evacuation and medical attention. It also seeks to prevent unauthorised interference during operations and ensure minimum loss of life and property.
The sensitisation, which was organised in collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), came at a time when efforts were being mounted for a full-scale emergency exercise.
Briefing the gathering, Nfansu Bojang, the director general of the GCAA, said it was the responsibility of his authority to ensure a safe day-to-day operation of aircrafts and all related aviation activities at the airport and its environs, by implementing standards, in accordance with the convention of ICAO.
He added that the provisions in ICAO Annex 14 volume 1 Convention indicated that “Airport Operation and Design” requires states to establish in every airport an Airport Emergency Plan (AEP). He informed the gathering that the AEP included a set of instructions and procedures to ensure prompt co-ordinated response of different airport services agencies and other agencies in the surrounding community that could assist in emergency situations.
According to him, once the plan had been developed and promulgated, it should be tested for effective implementation, adding that this would enable the authority to address major problems in the area of command, communication and co-ordination between the responding agencies.
In conclusion, Mr Bojang said that for the past few months, a team had been working vigorously in collaboration with the airport agencies and others to raise awareness on this plans.
Other speaker at the event included Katrine Nying, the director of Airport Operations, William wright, the emergency preparedness coordinator, who spoke at length on the significance of emergency response and other related issues.