KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston will stage its biennial Security Full Scale Exercise (FSX) on Thursday, June 2.

The six-hour simulation exercise will evaluate the emergency management capabilities at the airport and the associated critical tasks.

It will focus on the Airport Security Programme (ASP) and the Airport Emergency Plan (AEP). The activity will test the alert and notification systems, response capacity, and coordination and management of the potential consequences of an act of unlawful interference to aviation.

Senior Director, Commercial Development and Planning at the Airports Authority of Jamaica/NMIA Airports Limited, Alfred McDonald said that the testing of security and safety measures is a requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA).

“We are looking at the whole question of unlawful interference into the airport and how we safeguard against it. It is necessary to test those procedures so that if or when a real incident occurs, then there is an automatic response to those situations,” he pointed out

The JCAA will observe and evaluate the execution of each exercise to ensure that the required standards are met.

The FSX exercise will involve the airport response teams including aircraft rescue and firefighting services; Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA); Jamaica Customs; Meteorological Service; Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM); Jamaica Fire Brigade; Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF); Jamaica Defence Force (JDF); Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC); and the Ministry of Health.

The Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Jamaica Information Service will provide support.