AVIATION EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING CONFERENCE

A major conference, “Emergency Response Planning & Co-ordination”, will take place on 7/8 November, in Rome – hosted by Alitalia, whose President Fausto Cereti will open the event.

The two main themes are the need for an integrated approach to emergency response and responding to the needs of families.

Senior representatives from throughout the air transport industry will make presentations and answer questions. They include people from Air France, Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, Swissair, the United States NTSB, the BEA (France), Sydney Airport and the International Red Cross. Conference participants will also benefit from two specialist workshops, addressing Crisis Communications and the use of Special Assistance Teams.

Airlines and airports around the world are all required to maintain and rehearse effective “emergency response plans” to ensure that they are well prepared to deal with the consequences of an aircraft accident or other major incident. The IATA Emergency Response Planning Working Group (ERP-WG), organiser of the conference, plays a key role in ensuring that the aviation industry remains alert to the lessons to be learned from all incidents and the practical implications of new legislation, regulatory changes and the wider expectations of the travelling public.