M'luru Airport conducts exercise for emergency situations

Mangaluru, NT Bureau: Mangaluru International Airport, which has a tabletop runway, conducted the 'Mangalam – Tabletop Exercise 2024', simulating an air crash scenario on Tuesday to identify and rectify any shortcomings in the airport's preparedness to handle real-life emergencies, officials said.

A tabletop runway is one that is located on the top of a plateau or hill with one or both ends ending in a cliff. On May 22, 2010, 158 of 166 passengers died when Air India Express Flight 812 from Dubai overshot the tabletop runway at Mangalore airport and dropped into the gorge below.

The Mangalam – Tabletop Exercise 2024 exercise serves as a precursor to the full-scale aerodrome emergency exercise (FSAEE) scheduled for November this year, they said.

The airport regularly conducts these exercises in compliance with the guidelines from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the mandates of the civil aviation sector regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

According to the officials, the exercise simulated an air crash scenario within the airport premises, with various agencies enacting their roles according to a probable sequence of events.