The Trail Regional Airport will close for two hours on Thursday for an emergency exercise.
The city says staff from the airport, local RCMP, Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue, and BC Ambulance Service will conduct a full-scale exercise from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. However, Pacific Pacific Coastal Airlines flights will not be affected.
“As noted in the Canadian aviation regulations,” the operator of an airport must conduct a full-scale exercise every four years,” airport manager Enrico Moehrle said in a news release.
“The exercise must be based on scenarios that relate to a major aircraft accident and must include the assembly and deployment of fire-fighting, policing and medical services organizations.”
In addition to fulfilling regulatory requirements, the exercise is a great learning opportunity for all the organizations involved, Moehrle said.
“Each organization plays a vital role in an emergency situation and we need to work collaboratively as a team to ensure a prompt, efficient and effective response.
“Once we conclude the exercise, we look forward to the debrief to discuss the sequence of events that were successful as well as identifying any shortcoming in order to ensure that we are ready should a true aircraft incident or accident occur.”