Qatar Airways holds emergency exercise to test preparedness

The exercise involved a Qatar Airways aircraft experiencing an emergency shortly after take-off from one of its worldwide destinations.

Almost 200 staff members including key senior executives and Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker took part in the exercise in Doha which was coordinated by the airline’s Group Safety and Security, Contingency Planning team. A special Emergency Exercise Task Force was formed with representatives from several departments across the company.

Upon exercise notification, almost every aspect of the emergency response was activated, including the Qatar Airways Group Emergency Control Centre, Operations Control Centre, Deployed Response Group, Special Assistance Team and Telephone Enquiry Centre.

Simulated television news broadcasts of the unfolding emergency and black box tapes were created and viewed by staff in the Emergency Operations Centre, to give the activity an aspect of realism and immediacy.

Al Baker said every staff member at the airline must be prepared for the unlikely event of an emergency.