AACO agrees joint emergency planning initiative

The Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) has developed a crisis management partnership through 11 of its member airlines to handle emergency response planning.

The idea was initially raised by Kuwait Airlines’ director of operational safety and emergency response planning (ERP), Kamil Al-Awadhi
“I realized that like other airlines in the region we are prepared for an emergency response at our home base but would be less prepared when trying to handle a crisis at an outstation,” Al-Awadhi said.
He talked to other airlines and then to AACO. The Arab carriers organization then set up a task group. Leader of that group Gulf Air’s Hala Azam came to the AGM in Dubai today to outline the new partnership and invite the 11 airlines to sign the agreement.
“In crisis there is no competition,” she said, “We should share information about emergency risk, we should learn from simulation exercises and open up our training sessions and get greater collaboration at the outstations.”
The 11 airlines are: Air Arabia, EgyptAir, Emirates, Etihad, Flydubai, Kuwait Airlines, MEA, Oman Air, Qatar Airways and Saudia.
Emirates president Sir Tim Clark urged other airlines in AACO that meet all IATA and ICAO standards, to join the programme,
Mrs Azam said the AACO experience of sharing emergency response planning could create a global aviation centre of best practice as it develops “the roadmap for enhancing crisis management preparedness in the region.”