News

Operation and Security Exercise underway today at Václav Havel Airport Prague

An operation and security exercise is taking place on 21 October 2015 from 01:30 to 04:30 p.m. at Václav Havel Airport Prague. All interventions will be limited to the public and non-public area of the connection building between Terminals 1 and 2. The exercise will not restrict the operation of the airport in any way.

“We are performing the exercise to be prepared as best as possible for all real threats stemming from any potential security threat to the airport and its passengers. The aim of this exercise is to prepare for any explosive system planted at the airport and ensure protection for passengers, the public, airport staff and service operators with the least possible impact on the remaining operations at the airport. It is also for this reason that the evacuation exercise of people from endangered areas and their subsequent protection needs to be carried out. A crucial moment for us is also to restore operations as quickly as possible so we can provide quality services to which passengers are accustomed,” is how Milan Špaček, vice-chairman of the board of directors of Prague Airport responsible for airport security, explained the reasons for the exercise.

The exercise focuses on the response to the threat of a planted booby-trapped explosive system at the airport and the subsequent activities and procedures. The main factor in such an event is the Police of the Czech Republic which, depending on the size of the threat and impact, decides about the possible evacuation of the endangered areas or how to handle a situation during airport operations.

In a model situation the Chief of Police Measures decides about closing off an endangered area and its evacuation. This is followed by a search of the area in cooperation with the airport security units and the Police of the Czech Republic with a negative result. Part of the adopted measures is also the transfer of essential airport operational dispatch services to backup areas.

Once the exercise is complete it will be gradually assessed, nevertheless we can already state that the airport and all units involved are well prepared for handling an event of a similar scale. 

The airport carries out exercises for handling emergency situations of varying extent several times a year. Besides the readiness of individual human elements, exercises also involve systems, communication flows or the activation of backup areas for the airport’s essential operational units.