Salzburg Airport completes emergency exercise during live operations

Salzburg Airport completed a large-scale emergency exercise on Friday while flight operations continued, ORF reported. Around 300 people took part, including airport staff, firefighters, police, the Red Cross and government authorities.

The scenario involved a helicopter and a bus colliding on the airport apron in poor visibility. The helicopter was then assumed to have crashed, with debris hitting an occupied passenger plane. A fire in one of the plane’s engines was also simulated, spreading to the aircraft.

The alarm was raised at about 2pm. Airport spokesperson Alexander Klaus said the exercise was conducted under realistic conditions without endangering passengers or staff. Travellers were informed about the exercise on airport monitors, while observers from other international airports and fire services followed the proceedings.

Airport fire chief Werner Wimmer said coordination between emergency services and airport operations had been excellent, with procedures and communication working smoothly. Austrian law requires an aviation emergency exercise every two years, in line with international aviation rules.