Blessés, panique, drones malveillants : L’AIBD plongé dans un scénario de crise extrême
It was total panic when a plane landed at Blaise Diagne International Airport (AIBD). Passengers were struggling with oxygen, some had gaping wounds, one man was seriously injured in the eye, and the crew was trying to calm travelers paralyzed by fear. The gendarmerie, police, air force, rescue teams, and medical services were deployed immediately. A drone was suspected of attacking the aircraft.
The scene, spectacular and unsettling, was not real. It was part of Operation “Thiely,” a simulation designed to assess the responsiveness of airport, security, and health authorities to a major crisis. This large-scale exercise is conducted every two years at each airport, in accordance with international standards.
According to Colonel François Sambou, Secretary General of the High Authority of Airports of Senegal, this exercise fulfills an international obligation. "It is required to organize, every two years, a large-scale exercise in crisis management, safety and security. The last one was in 2023. It was therefore imperative to hold one in 2025."
Askin Demir, the general manager of LAS, the operator of AIBD, added that such an exercise is part of the airport's emergency plan. "Every two years, we organize an exercise taking into account recent threats. Today, all over the world, the emerging threat concerns drones. This year's scenario is therefore based on the intrusion of drones into airport airspace," he explained.
Operation "Thiely" mobilized all stakeholders: the civil aviation authority, the police, the gendarmerie, customs, the air force, health services, private security companies, and airport assistance companies such as 2AS, AIBD-SA...
"Each entity has a well-defined level of responsibility. The exercise was led by the colonel of the airport authority. The main objective remains the safety and security of the airport. These exercises allow us to assess our level of preparedness, identify our strengths and weaknesses, and above all strengthen coordination between the actors," adds Askin Demir.
An initial debriefing has been carried out, but a more in-depth analysis is planned in the coming weeks in order to formulate concrete recommendations.
The scenario chosen this year combines intentional security acts, including the malicious use of drones, with security incidents. "In aviation, safety concerns accidental events, while security deals with intentional acts. Drone attacks clearly fall under the umbrella of security," explains Colonel Sambou.
All entities operating on the airport platform were mobilized, with the participation of external actors playing specific roles in the simulation. "The goal remains the continuous improvement of our safety and security system. Recommendations will be formulated after a thorough debriefing," he stated.
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