South African Airways completes emergency exercise

The exercise, code named Exercise Thumba,  assessed the airline’s readiness in case of an aviation emergency and test its preparedness. Various departments within the airline had their emergency response plans put to the test and the exercise also enabled the airline as a whole to have its systems and procedures tested against other aviation and security entities that also participated. 

Exercise Thumba also tested SAA’s Safety, Security and Business Continuity readiness to respond to a number of different simulated scenarios at the OR Tambo International Airport. The simulation scenarios included a loss of communication with an aircraft en-route to its destination, a hijack with fatalities and a case of suspected communicable disease on board the aircraft. 

“Although SAA is regarded by the industry as one of the safest airlines worldwide, it is important for the airline to regularly test its emergency management programme. This is also a legislative requirement,” said Essery Hamilton, SAA head of Department Group Safety, Quality and Regulatory Standards. 

"Our passengers, who always remain our main concern, can rest assured that SAA will not fall prey to complacency, hence we devote all the necessary energies behind an exercise of this nature to meet the required levels of readiness. We were pleased to have had this opportunity to carry out the evaluation and we are satisfied that the airline is compliant with the provisions of our domestic legislation for safety and emergency preparations as well as meeting required International standards. The exercise will assists us in closing any possible gaps that could exist and the insights gained will help us to improve our emergency crisis management system,” Hamilton said. 

In accordance with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), the airline is required to conduct an emergency simulation at least every two years to test its readiness levels to respond to emergencies.