KOLKATA: A mobile command post (MCP) vehicle that was commissioned by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) on April 30 has reached Kolkata airport amid COVID-19 lockdown, as a preventive measure after the crash-landing of Air India Express on August 7 at Kozhikode airport.
As per the AAI, the MCP vehicle that cost Rs 46,36,220 has a compartment where various facilities are mounted for use on the site, as and where required, for rescue operations or in unlawful situations.
"[MCP] serves as a point where liaison officers of the various cooperating agencies assemble to plan and coordinate the rescue operations. It is used for establishing staging area for all ground service equipment such as tow tractors, coaches etc. [It is also used to] establish an Assembly Area for the uninjured survivors and to secure/ provide any assistance required by doctors at the Triage Area and arrange the speedy evacuation of injured casualty cases in the hospital. [It also] liaises with the airline concerned to transport the uninjured casualties to the SRC (Survivors Reception Centre) and establish communication with Crisis Management Centre (CMC) and Airport Operation Control Centre (AOCC)," informed AAI.
According to AAI, Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Services is responsible for the deployment of MCP as quickly as possible at a distance of not less than 90m upwind from the aircraft accident site.
There was heavy rainfall in Kerala on August 7 and an Air India Express flight overshot the tabletop runway before plunging 35 feet below into a valley and splitting into two. The plane which was part of the Vande Bharat mission was ferrying 190 passengers from Dubai to Kerala during the COVID-19 pandemic and killed 18 people including the pilots. Following this, various measures are taken at airports across the country to tackle untoward incidents.