An emergency drill of an air accident will take place at Prague Airport

The exercise will be attended by rescue, security and operational units of Prague Airport, as well as the Police of the Czech Republic and the Association of Samaritans of the Czech Republic. An important participant in the exercise will also be the airline Smartwings, which has lent one of its aircraft for the purposes of the exercise.

"Statistically, air accidents are very rare. However, large international airports must be prepared for such event. That is why we organize an emergency drill at least once every two years, during which we test our readiness to deal with emergencies of all kinds. We expect that today's exercise will confirm our ability to react very quickly and work perfectly with other components in the event of an aircraft accident," says Zdeněk Truhlář, Manager of Strategy and Safety.

The subject of this year's exercise is an intervention in aircraft crash, including rescue and firefighting carried out by Prague Airport firefighters who will also practice specific procedures for identifying dangerous goods on board. In the next part of the exercise, the activation of the group for removing the crashed aircraft from the operational area will be examined.

"For the airline, this type of regular exercise is an essential part of crisis and security plans. Participation in the training event contributes to the company's maximum preparedness for various crisis situations and confirms the high level of operational safety and crisis management of the airline," says Roman Vik, Member of the Board of Directors and CEO of Smartwings.

Smartwings has repeatedly been successfully audited to IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) standards. A valid IOSA registration is considered in commercial air transport as proof of the airline's reliability and high level of safety.

The exercise will take place during full operation of the airport and will not affect the smooth check-in of passengers or the regular flight schedule at Prague Airport.

List of participating units:

• Prague Airport, a.s.
• Smartwings, a.s.
• Czech Airlines, a.s.
• Czech Airlines Handling, a.s.
• Association of Samaritans of the Czech Republic
• Police of the Czech Republic (Foreign Police Inspectorate)
• Air Traffic Control