MANCHESTER, NH – If you see a lot of emergency vehicles at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport on Thursday, don’t worry – they are conducting an emergency preparedness exercise, something which happens every three years.
The exercise will involve over 75 different agencies that are part of the Airport’s emergency plan. In addition, approximately 80 volunteers will take part in the drill, which will be a mock aircraft accident at the Airport.
The exercise will begin at 9 a.m. and will run for approximately three hours. The Airport will remain open during the drill, and there will be no impact to normal Airport operations. MHT passengers, local businesses and neighbors should be aware of emergency response vehicles operating around the Airport during the course of the exercise.
“This exercise is intended to assess the emergency preparedness of the Airport, our airlines and our mutual aid partners,” said Airport Director Ted Kitchens, A.A.E. “The weekday schedule for this year’s drill will allow for a strong mutual aid response and will provide an opportunity to test, exercise, evaluate and refine our response protocols and incident command functions. We want to thank all our mutual aid partners, as well as our local hospitals and volunteers, for their participation, especially during this time of workforce shortages throughout the country. Their support is vital to the preparedness of the Airport and the emergency response community in the event of an actual emergency.”
The FAA requires airports with a Class I Airport Operating Certificate, such as Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, to hold a full-scale airport emergency plan exercise at least once every 36 consecutive months.
ABOUT MANCHESTER-BOSTON REGIONAL AIRPORT
Strategically situated in the heart of New England, Manchester-Boston Regional Airport is located less than fifty miles north of Boston, Massachusetts, and less than an hour’s drive from the region’s most popular ski areas, scenic seacoast beaches and peaceful lakefront resorts. MHT is the premier aviation gateway for the region. For more information, visit www.flymanchester.com.
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