Tasmania Police advises that an emergency services exercise will be conducted at Launceston Airport on Wednesday 13 April 2016 between 9.45am and 1pm.

Travellers and members of the public should not be alarmed by the training exercise, which will involve simulated injured passengers, debris, smoke and fire adjacent to the airfield.  There will also be a heightened level of emergency services vehicle activity.

Every two years, management of Launceston Airport is required by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to conduct a field exercise at the airport to test the Airport Emergency Plan. The exercise will test the emergency response to an aircraft crash near the airport.

“Approximately 100 volunteers and emergency responders will be involved in the exercise.  Tasmania Police is the responsible management authority in the event of such an incident, but other emergency services are called upon to provide assistance.” said Acting Inspector Nick Clark.

“The exercise provides an excellent opportunity for emergency services to practice and refine their responses to real emergencies, in what will be a lifelike but safe environment to do so,” he said.

The exercise is due to conclude around 1pm  however it should be noted that there will be no disruption to regular scheduled passenger flights, which will be unaffected by the exercise.

In the interest of safety preparedness, participating agencies would like to ask that members of the public keep clear of access routes that emergency services may use.

“On behalf of everyone involved we thank the public in Northern Tasmania and any travellers from interstate for their cooperation and understanding while we conduct this necessary training exercise,” said Acting Inspector Clark.