On October 27 from 3:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Vnukovo International Airport will hold a training on the evacuation of passengers and personnel operating in the Terminal A building in case of fire, threat of sabotage and terrorist attacks. This event is aimed to check how well Vnukovo Airport complex and cooperating organizations are prepared for emergencies, train the staff to properly navigate inside the Terminal A building in stressful situations, keep the employees and state agencies working at the airport ready for emergency evacuation, evaluate the team work of various departments and services, test fire protection systems, as well as the condition and accessibility of the airport’s evacuation routes and exits.
The event will feature the employees from various departments of Vnukovo International Airport: Passenger Transport Management, Operation, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF), Aviation (transport) Security, Electrical and Lighting Support, Heating and Sanitary Support, Communication, Fire Safety, and Sales. The training will be conducted by Dmitry Khartunyan, Chief Operating Officer of Vnukovo International Airport. Victor Marin, Head of Fire Safety Department of Vnukovo International Airport, was appointed deputy training leader and team leader.
The training on the evacuation of passengers and employees of Vnukovo International Airport will comply with the requirements of transport and aviation security as well as Moscow’s special safety procedures. Controlling access and simultaneously evacuating citizens from the airport in a timely manner is a complex technological process. If this practical training is successful, it will confirm high level of flight safety even under additional load imposed on the Vnukovo Airport staff.
«Emergency response training is an important part of our work. Drills allow our employees to develop important skills such as the ability to quickly find the right solutions in the event of fire, work together on extinguishing it, evacuate people and use fire extinguishing equipment correctly. We pay special attention to how our department managers coordinate actions of the employees who should attempt to stop flame development before fire fighters arrive,» said Dmitry Khartunyan, Chief Operating Officer of Vnukovo International Airport.
Representatives of the Supervisory and Preventive Efforts Department of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Moscow region were invited as observers of the event.
During the training, Vnukovo Airport will function as usual. All flights will be performed according to the central flight schedule.
Vnukovo International Airport is one of the largest air transport facilities in Russia. The airport handles about 200,000 flights of Russian and foreign airlines annually. Its network covers the whole territory of Russia as well as near and far-abroad countries, Europe, Americas, Asia and Africa. In 2019, Vnukovo International Airport broke a historical record and served more than 24 million passengers which is 11,7% or 2.5 million passengers more than in 2018. Vnukovo airport terminal with a total area of about 300,000 square meters is able to handle up to 35 million passengers per year. Vnukovo International Airport is the only airport in Russia to have received Letter of Commendation from the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin for labor achievements and high performance. Moreover, Vnukovo Airport was recognized as the Best International Airport by Air Gateway of Russia award and Best Airport: overcoming challenges 2020 at National Aviation Infrastructure Show (NAIS) for three consecutive years.
