The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai is conducting a full-scale emergency exercise today to evaluate its readiness for “times of unforeseen crisis”.
The airport authorities said the drill was part of a scheduled safety preparedness protocol and the movement of passengers will not be hindered in any way during the exercise.
“All precautionary measures are being taken to ensure there is no disruption of operational services,” the Mumbai airport wrote in a tweet. “CSMIA is conducting a scheduled, simulated full-scale aerodrome emergency exercise, today at N 11 TWY, to evaluate the readiness of the airport in times of unforeseen crisis,” it added.
Authorities often conduct such exercises in crowded areas in major cities to prepare for emergency scenarios and improve coordination among different agencies like police and emergency health services.
In early September, a similar security drill was conducted at the Mumbai airport during which Terminal 2 was emptied and passengers had to evacuate the building. Officials had assured then too that the drill was unlikely to affect the schedule of the flights or movement of passengers. But some of them were caught off guard.
A day ago, Delhi Police released a video of an anti-terror mock drill conducted at South Delhi's Select City Walk Mall. The city police said in a statement that the drill was aimed at checking the alertness, preparedness, response time, and coordination of different agencies in “the time of any eventuality”. The police drill simulated an attack by two masked gunmen who entered the shopping centre on a bike and held out guns to threaten the public.
The Delhi Police soon took over the shopping mall and called in the bomb disposal squad and other services. A SWAT team overpowered the “attackers” and paraded them out of the building. They later checked the area for possible explosives and attended to the “injured”.