Bomb threat drill confirms response readiness of Mumbai Airport

MUMBAI: A surprise drill was conducted at the Mumbai airport on Saturday which showed the alertness levels of the staff and the authorities were up to the desired level, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) claimed in a statement.

The mock drill was conducted at terminal 2 (T2) wherein the airport received an intimation about a bomb threat during the afternoon hours. Conducted as a surprise drill, it tested not only the airport’s disaster response system but also its calm coordination to avert the crisis. The drill started at 1:02 PM and concluded at 1:37 PM on September 17, 2022. The drill included the participation of CSMIA’s multiple internal and external stakeholders.

“The exercise began with an intimation call simulated as a bomb threat at 1:02 PM. As an immediate response, a bomb Threat Assessment Committee was convened as per protocol.A terminal evacuation was declared for the airport security group to carry on with further proceedings.

The Terminal operations team, CISF Team along with marshals were available to guide passengers toward the safe assembly areas. After successful assessments and checks, the terminal was declared safe from all threats by the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee and the drill was called off at 1:37 PM,” read a statement by CSMIA.

All the passengers were provided with refreshments and comfortable seating arrangements after the drill.

CSMIA organises emergency mock drills on a time-to-time basis to assess the alertness, efficiency and preparedness of the airport staff, which was successfully evaluated.

The simulated exercise is also a part of the efforts to improve the safety measures which are highly critical in cases of a threat to the life of passengers and employees. However, with the support from CSMIA’s internal &and external stakeholders, the drill was successfully conducted without causing any inconvenience to passengers and airport operations.

The overall activity was performed with passengers’ and employees’ safety in mind, and with sincere efforts.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization and DGCA regulations, it is a requirement for all airports and airlines globally to conduct a full-scale Aerodrome Emergency Exercise once every two years.

Speaking on the surprise mock drill, CSMIA’s spokesperson said, “Mumbai airport takes the safety of its passengers and staff very seriously. The mock drill is a very important exercise to keep our disaster management systems updated and on point. While we are very pleased with the level of alertness and response protocols followed, we are constantly striving to make our teams better. With the airport looking at digital transformations of a whole new level, we expect to bring down our response times even further. It’s a key step in maintaining our position as one of the best airports in the country.”

Officials from various agencies of the airport and airlines were deployed as observers to critically evaluate the response by various agencies and the airport’s readiness to combat emergencies in real-time.