Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has carried out a partial emergency exercise at Velana International Airport to assess the airport’s readiness to respond to a potential communicable disease incident involving an arriving flight.
The exercise, held on August 6, was conducted in collaboration with the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and focused on evaluating emergency response procedures and coordination between agencies in the event of an inflight communicable disease case.
BEOND Airline participated as the partner carrier for the simulation, providing an aircraft and operational support to create a realistic emergency scenario for responding agencies.
According to MACL, the exercise tested the effectiveness of existing emergency procedures, communication protocols and inter-agency coordination while allowing participating teams to assess their response capabilities in a controlled environment.
The state-owned airport operator said the drill was completed successfully without affecting normal airport operations or disrupting scheduled flights.
Emergency exercises of this nature form part of international aviation safety requirements, with airports regularly conducting simulations to evaluate their preparedness for a wide range of incidents, including aircraft accidents, security threats, hazardous material spills and public health emergencies.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, airports around the world have placed greater emphasis on strengthening their preparedness for communicable disease events, with exercises designed to test quarantine procedures, passenger screening, medical response and coordination among health and aviation authorities.
MACL said it will continue conducting regular emergency exercises at Velana International Airport as part of its commitment to maintaining high safety standards, improving coordination among stakeholders and ensuring the airport remains prepared to respond effectively to different types of emergencies.
