INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) boosted the readiness of its staff at the Zamboanga International Airport (ZIA), as well as local agencies to respond to an emergency through a simulation exercise on Friday.
ZIA manager Jimmy Santos said the full-scale simulation considered the scenario of an Airbus A320 plane having crash landed on the airport around 9 a.m. with five on board dead on the spot, while 20 others who survived need varying degrees of medical attention.
Immediately, authorities locked down all streets leading to the airport with only security personnel allowed to enter and inspect vehicles and people trying to get near the facility.
Deploying six firetrucks, personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection demonstrated their firefighting skills to put off the blaze engulfing a dummy aircraft, while six ambulances rushed near the wounded passengers sought temporary shelter and medical personnel staging several treatment stations there.
Santos told journalists who witnessed the simulation that the exercise aimed “to showcase the readiness of all the agencies and offices, in case something similar like this will happen in the future.”
The simulation exercise affected two flights and stranded hundreds of motorists.
Santos admitted that two flights were affected on Friday morning: a Cebu Pacific flight from Tawi-Tawi, and a Philippine Airlines flight bound for Manila.
“We have informed these airlines a month ago about this simulation exercises,” Santos said.
Tricycle driver Porfirio Luna felt bad about the lockdown of roads near the airport. “I was not able to leave the area waiting for my passenger. This simulation should have been announced repeatedly on radio stations. Imagine, I am stuck for almost two hours here, that would have earned me an income,” Luna said in Chavacano.
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