The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has conducted a full-scale emergency drill at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to reinforce the facility's security fitness.
In a statement on Wednesday, April 30, KAA said that the exercise mainly aimed at identifying security vulnerabilities within the airport's infrastructure and elevating the airport's staff preparedness and ability to manage the high-risk scenarios that may occur.
According to KAA, the one-hour, 12-minute drill involved the staging of incidents such as explosions, through simulation, within the airport's facilities, such as terminal buildings, and assessed how the airport staff would respond to them.
Since the activity was fully simulated, the authority assured that the exercise did not compromise the airports' operation or security in any way.
"The simulation exercise, which commenced at 3:08pm, involved a staged sabotage incident at the airport facility using explosives, including a simulated explosion at the terminal building," it stated.
"The drill tested the coordination and effectiveness of incident management, emergency response, and business continuity procedures. The exercise concluded at 4:20am," it added.
According to the KAA, Managing Director Nicholas Bodo, the drill was fundamental in reinforcing the airport's security standards and was in line with regulations from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) that stipulate that airports across the world must regularly perform such drills.
"Conducting regular emergency drills is vital to ensure the highest level of preparedness. I commend the efforts of all the personnel involved in this exercise for their professionalism and dedication," he stated.
The activity comes one month after Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, who spoke during a Senate proceeding on Thursday, March 21, faulted the airport's security over their inability to detect drug traffickers.
Khalwale, who labelled the security agencies at the airport as incompetent, stressed that it was a 'shame' that the traffickers were able to bypass the airport's security systems and end up being nabbed in other countries.
According to Khalwale, the airport's security system, which he also described as "rotten", had played a key role in tarnishing the country's image internationally.
"It is a shame, Mr Speaker, that some of the cases that end up being apprehended in countries like Singapore, Dubai, and other international airports can start their journey here at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)," he said.
