BANGKOK, 6 July 2012 -The Airports of Thailand (AoT) has held a full- scale medical emergency drill today at Suvarnabhumi Airport (SVB) to assure passengers of its ability to contain the spread of dangerous diseases.
According to AoT President Somchai Sawasdipol, the AOT has for the first time conducted such a drill, which is known as the Scenario of Full Scale Exercise of the Suvarnbhumi Airport Emergency Plan Fiscal Year 2012 (SEMEX 12), to get its personnel prepared if worse comes to the worst, given the nature of the current diseases and how fast the transmission between the carrier and the other person is nowadays.
He said since the airport is a gateway to Thailand and with 130,000 passengers from 193 all over the world coming and leaving the country each day, any one of them could be a carrier of dangerous and contagious diseases.
The President also said that the purpose of the drill is to raise confidence of travellers in the ability of the airport staff to keep everyone safe, and to demonstrate by showing a scenario to stakeholders of how it is being done. The organizer of SEMEX 12 said the drill is in line with the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
An impressive medical service was carried out during the demonstration in which a male passenger had hypothetically died from avian flu on a flight to Thailand. Under the procedures, the aircrews notified the AoT of the deceased passenger before calling for medical assistance. The rest of the passengers were taken to the quarantine zone for a preliminary check-up to ensure they are in good health before they were allowed to proceed to the immigration.
Mr. Somchai said many organizations such as the International Communicable Diseases Control Office at SVB, the Bureau of Epidemiology, the Department of Disease Control in Samutprakarn, Air Traffic Controller, SVB Police station, the Immigration Bureau Division 2 and SVB Customs Bureau have also provided full coordination in this event .
