BACOLOD City – The runway of the Bacolod-Silay Airport will be closed on Nov. 9 for an airport emergency simulation.
The drill will start at 8 a.m. and end at 12 p.m., said airport spokeswoman Ofelia Leonardo.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) spearheads the “full-scale” emergency exercise, which will cost about a million pesos, added Leonardo.
Evaluators from the Aerodrome and Air Navigation Safety Oversight Office – composed of CAAP’s technical personnel – will be at the drill.
They are the ones assigned to certify that an airport is prepared to respond to disasters.
This certification is a requirement of the International Civil Aviation Authority Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations which focuses on ensuring safe international air navigation.
Leonardo said with the certification, Bacolod-Silay Airport will be able to cater to flights going to Europe and the United States of America.
An emergency drill of the same kind was also recently conducted at the Kalibo International Airport in Aklan./PN
