Toronto Pearson conducts annual full-scale emergency exercise

Toronto Pearson conducted its annual mock emergency exercise that simulated the full-scale response to an explosion occurring in a terminal.

This year’s exercise, which took place overnight June 8-9 between 11:30 p.m. and 3 a.m. in Terminal 1, involved over 100 volunteers from neighbouring communities who acted as passengers injured in a mock explosion, as well as family members of the victims.

Other responders and organizations participating in the event included Peel Regional Police, Toronto Pearson Fire and Emergency Services and Air Canada.

“Safety is our top priority at Toronto Pearson and we are continually looking for ways to improve our response to potential emergencies at the airport,” said Khalil Lamrabet, interim chief operating officer and chief commercial officer at Toronto Pearson. “These simulated exercises underscore our commitment to emergency preparedness and provide us and our partners the opportunity to test all aspects of our joint response. Each year, we take away valuable lessons from this event to refine our protocols and procedures.”

Toronto Pearson, in collaboration with multiple aviation and agency partners, runs one full-scale and one tabletop exercise per year to test protocols, procedures, communications and planning for emergency events.

This exercise is a requirement by Transport Canada and is an important way to test the airport’s emergency response.

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