A LARGE-scale training exercise will take place at Jersey Airport today to test how the Island’s emergency services respond to a serious incident.
Emergency services, hospital teams, and airport staff will come together between 4pm and 10pm for the multi-agency drill called Exercise Starling.
As part of the exercise, which will not affect flights or normal airport operations, volunteer actors will take on various roles to make the scenario as realistic as possible.
“Some may look distressed or appear to need medical attention,” organisers said. “Please don’t be alarmed if you see this happening.”
Those in or around Jersey Airport during the exercise can also expect to see more blue-light activity than usual, including emergency vehicles.
The exercise will involve Ports of Jersey, the Fire and Rescue Service, States Police, Honorary Police, Ambulance Service, and Jersey General Hospital.
Ben Spiers, Head of Airport Fire and Airside Operations at Ports of Jersey, said: “Exercise Starling is a fantastic opportunity to test and validate the Airport’s emergency response procedures alongside the Island’s emergency services.
“Our staff regularly train for a variety of incidents, and full-scale exercise, help us keep improving our emergency response and business continuity plans as well as validating our aerodrome certification with the Office of the Director of Civil Aviation.”
Richard Blake, Jersey’s Deputy Emergency Planning Officer, said: “This exercise is a pre-planned operation which is a critical activity as part of our training, exercising and learning strategy, based both on what we ‘must do’ and what we need to do to be prepared.
“In Jersey, we plan for at least one ‘live play’ major incident exercise every year. It’s a great way to test our plans in a controlled environment and learn from the experience.”
