AIRPORT EMPLOYEE Emergency Response at Airports 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the Airport Emergency Plan (AEP), and who is responsible for maintaining it?
- A plan for managing flight delays; maintained by airlines
- A comprehensive plan for responding to emergencies at or near an airport; maintained by the airport operator and coordinated with local emergency services (Correct answer)
- A TSA security document; maintained by federal authorities only
- An evacuation plan for the terminal; maintained by retail tenants
Correct answer: A comprehensive plan for responding to emergencies at or near an airport; maintained by the airport operator and coordinated with local emergency services
The AEP is the airport operator's comprehensive plan for responding to all types of emergencies, developed in coordination with local emergency services.
The Airport Emergency Plan (AEP) is required by ICAO Annex 14 and national regulations. It is the airport operator's primary document for coordinating the response to emergencies at or near the airport. The AEP covers aircraft accidents and incidents, bomb threats, fuel spills, hazardous materials incidents, mass casualty events, natural disasters, and other emergencies. It is developed in coordination with local fire services, police, hospitals, airlines, and other stakeholders. The plan must be exercised at least every two years with full-scale exercises involving all relevant agencies.
Question 2: What does 'full emergency' declaration mean at an airport?
- The airport is closing for routine maintenance
- An aircraft is in distress with a real or apparent risk of an accident, requiring full activation of emergency services (Correct answer)
- All flights are diverted to alternate airports
- Only the fire brigade is placed on alert
Correct answer: An aircraft is in distress with a real or apparent risk of an accident, requiring full activation of emergency services
A full emergency means an aircraft is in distress with a real possibility of an accident, activating all available emergency services at full readiness.
A 'full emergency' is one of three phases of alert declared by Airport Operations or the Control Tower. It is declared when an aircraft approaching or at the airport is known or believed to be in such trouble that there is a danger of an accident. All emergency services are deployed to the runway or incident site in readiness. This differs from a 'local standby' (aircraft has a defect but landing is not necessarily dangerous) and an 'aircraft accident standby' (declared after an accident has occurred). Full emergency activates the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) services, medical teams, police, and operations staff.
Question 3: What is the primary purpose of Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicles stationed at airports?
- To provide airport VIP transport services
- To rescue occupants and fight fires involving aircraft or airport structures (Correct answer)
- To tow disabled aircraft off the runway
- To provide weather monitoring on the runway
Correct answer: To rescue occupants and fight fires involving aircraft or airport structures
ARFF vehicles are specialized emergency response units for rapid response to aircraft fires and accidents to rescue occupants and suppress fires.
Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicles are specially designed and equipped fire trucks positioned at airports for rapid response to aircraft emergencies. They carry large quantities of water, foam concentrate (AFFF/FFFP), dry chemical agents, and halon or CO2 extinguishers needed to fight aviation fuel fires. ARFF units are staffed by specially trained firefighters and must be able to reach any point on the runway within defined response times (typically 3 minutes for Category 1+ airports). Their primary mission is to maintain a survivable environment for aircraft occupants during and after an accident.
Question 4: When a bomb threat is received against an aircraft or airport facility, what is the first priority action?
- Search the aircraft without evacuating passengers
- Immediately notify the relevant authorities including police and airport operations (Correct answer)
- Make a public announcement over the terminal PA system
- Contact the airline's head office first
Correct answer: Immediately notify the relevant authorities including police and airport operations
All bomb threats must be immediately reported to police and airport operations, who will activate the appropriate emergency response procedures.
When any airport employee receives a bomb threat, whether by phone, in writing, or through any other means, the first action must be to notify law enforcement (airport police) and airport operations immediately. The employee should attempt to gather as much information as possible from the caller (voice characteristics, specific threat details, detonation time) while remaining calm, and document this information precisely. The decision to evacuate passengers, search the aircraft, or delay departure is made by police and airport management in coordination with the airline, not by individual employees.
Question 5: What does 'triage' mean in a mass casualty airport emergency?
- The process of documenting injuries for insurance purposes
- The process of sorting and prioritizing casualties for treatment based on injury severity and survival probability (Correct answer)
- The method of transporting casualties to hospital by air
- The post-incident investigation process
Correct answer: The process of sorting and prioritizing casualties for treatment based on injury severity and survival probability
Triage is the systematic sorting of mass casualty victims by injury severity to prioritize treatment and maximize survival rates when resources are limited.
Triage (from French 'to sort') is the process used in mass casualty incidents (MCIs) to categorize victims according to the urgency of their medical need. The most commonly used system at airport accidents is START (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment) or SALT (Sort, Assess, Lifesaving Interventions, Treatment/Transport). Victims are color-coded: Red (immediate — life-threatening but survivable), Yellow (delayed — serious but can wait), Green (minor injuries), and Black (deceased or unsalvageable). This ensures that limited medical resources are directed where they can save the most lives.
Question 6: What is the purpose of the 'muster point' or 'assembly area' in airport emergency procedures?
- Where aircraft crew gather for pre-flight briefings
- A designated safe location where personnel evacuate to and are accounted for during an emergency (Correct answer)
- The staging area for emergency vehicles
- The location where passengers reclaim their bags after an emergency
Correct answer: A designated safe location where personnel evacuate to and are accounted for during an emergency
Muster points are designated safe locations outside buildings where evacuated personnel gather for headcount and accountability during an emergency.
Muster points (also called assembly areas) are pre-designated locations at a safe distance from airport buildings where staff evacuate to during emergencies such as fire, bomb threat, or hazardous materials incident. Once at the muster point, supervisors or wardens conduct a headcount against attendance records to ensure all personnel are accounted for. Missing persons must be reported immediately to emergency services to enable a search if necessary. Muster points must be clearly marked, communicated to all staff during induction, and regularly practiced through drills.
AIRPORT EMPLOYEE Emergency Response at Airports 1
What is the Airport Emergency Plan (AEP), and who is responsible for maintaining it?