Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands: The Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA) recently presented certificates of appreciation to students at the Layman E. Scott Senior High School in Cayman Brac to thank them for volunteering to act as victims for the full scale emergency exercise staged at the Charles Kirkconnell International Airport on Wednesday, 30 November 2016.

“Living on a small Island with limited resources, it is important for the people in our community to be involved and assist emergency services in preparing a realistic response to an aircraft emergency”, said Chief Safety Management Officer Andrew McLaughlin. Mr. McLaughlin added, “While we practiced for months and made sure all the technical details and safeguards were in place for a successful exercise, the students and other volunteers added realism to the scenario by simulating injured passengers, and I would like to commend them as well as all of our volunteers both in Cayman Brac and Grand Cayman for their spirit of volunteerism and community service. Without their assistance the emergency responders would miss an opportunity to practice their life saving skills in the most realistic scenario possible. While we pray we will never use these skills it is good to know we are ready when called”.

To comply with International Standards the CIAA stages a full scale emergency exercise at each airport (Owen Roberts international in Grand Cayman and Charles Kirkconnell International in

Cayman Brac) every two years in order to test the ability of airport staff and emergency response agencies to work together to form an organized response to save lives.

PHOTO CAPTION: ( L to R Charles Kirkconnell International Airport Manager Miguel Martin, students from the Layman E. Scott Senior High School and CIAA’s Chief Safety Management Officer Andrew McLaughlin.