Airport carried out annual security exercise to test the capacity of handling explosives - exercise was deemed smooth and achieved objective

Macao’ aviation security oversight work was audited by International Civil Aviation Organization in 2010 and satisfactory results were achieved. The government bodies responsible for aviation security and the airport operators have always been endeavoring their best efforts in enhancing the level of security in Macau International Airport. Regular exercises are carried out to test and assess the capacity of the Airport Emergency Plan. On 16 October midnight, the Bomb Threat Exercise 2012 was carried out in Macau International Airport to simulate the activation of the Airport Emergency Plan and the security contingency procedures in response to a bomb threat that occurred in the passenger terminal of the airport, the process of which was smooth.

The exercise took place from 02:00 to 05:30 on 16 October with the participation of about 150 people. The scenario simulated a suspect baggage being found by a passenger in the departures hall of the passenger terminal of Macau International Airport. Upon being notified of the incident, the police on duty and the airport security guards arrived at the scene and confirmed that it was a suspect bomb. The case was reported immediately to the superior and the site was cordoned off. An emergency was declared and the Airport Emergency Operations Centre was activated. The police forces security immediately activated their contingency procedures and a thorough inspection was performed on the whole airport area. The police and the airport security guards later found another suspect bomb in the car park. The special police were called in to inspect the two suspect objects and one of them was confirmed to be a genuine bomb and was then detonated.

The Facilitation and Security Committee holds regular meetings to review the aviation security work in Macau International Airport and discuss improvement measures to further enhance the level of security. This bomb threat exercise was conducted in accordance with the work schedule approved by the Committee in the beginning of this year. The Public Security Police Force was the coordinator; the other participants were Unitary Police Force, Macao Customs Services, Judiciary Police, Fire Services Bureau, Security Coordination Office, Health Bureau, Maritime Administration, Civil Aviation Authority, CAM-Macau International Airport Company Ltd, Administration of Airports, Ltd., Macau Security Company Ltd. (airport security), Menzies Macau Airport Services Ltd and Air Macau Company Ltd.

The President of the Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Chan Weng Hong, said that exercises with different themes are carried out every year in Macau International Airport with the objective of testing and assessing the effectiveness of the Airport Emergency Plan and the capacity of the participating entities on command and control, coordination, communication, resource allocation and so on when facing contingencies. He stressed that regular training for the personnel is necessary so that they can further improve their skills in recognizing and dealing with aviation security emergencies. With the active participation from and the combined efforts between the entities as well as the personnel, all exercises that took place in the past have achieved good results.

On 06 July 2012, the full-scale emergency exercise was carried out in Macau International Airport with success. According to the 2012 work plan on exercises, a full-scale exercise will be conducted in the Macau Heliport in the midnight of 19 October.

The Bomb Threat Exercise 2012 was carried out on 16 October midnight to simulate the activation of the Airport Emergency Plan and the security contingency procedures in response to a bomb threat that occurred in the passenger terminal of the airport, the process of which was smooth and achieved the objective.