36 graduate from CDC aviation emergency training course

The response to aviation disasters was given a boost as 36 persons successfully completed a management course in Emergency Operations at the Eugene F Correia International Airport at Ogle, East Coast Demerara. The course was facilitated by the Civil Defence Commission’s (CDC) Preparedness and Response Manager, Major Sean Welcome, and it saw representatives from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, the CDC and staff at the airport at Ogle.

The participants were issued certificates after completing the three-day course. A ceremony which was held at the Caribbean Aviation Maintenance Services (CAMS) Hangar saw 12 female participants receiving certificates. Along with their male counterparts, they were trained in airport rescue, fire-fighting and security response to a simulated aircraft accident.
Ogle Airport’s Operations Manager, Phillip Lynch, recalled the inadequacies that were unearthed during the February 2017 simulation exercise which propelled the facility to embark on more training for staff and stakeholders.
“We recognised from reading the critiques from that exercise that we were sorely lacking in EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) management. The EOC was managed by totally untrained officers so we decided to do something about that,” Lynch explained referencing the training course.
GCAA Air Navigation Services Inspector Adrian Bassier highlighted the importance of safety, noting that refresher training courses help to achieve these measures: “I believe the course was both relevant and timely and it would not just benefit the participants but the wider aviation community,” he said.
The airport which is said to be the busiest in the Caribbean, conducts full-scale safety operation exercise every two years.