The drill, which was carried out in coordination with the Air Force and the other national and foreign air control centres, demonstrated that ENAIRE is ready to respond to events of any nature, and reinforced its firm commitment to service safety and continuity as a critical operator of essential infrastructures and services in Spain.
To deal with the most serious situations (Type-A crisis), ENAIRE has crisis control centres to support its main air traffic control centres, which are prepared at all times to provide air traffic management services.
ENAIRE conducted a drill to address possible situations such as fire, earthquake, flood, very serious technical failures, etc. that could force ATC services to be provided from other location. These centres have energy and communications systems that are completely independent from those of the control centre. In the event of a serious incident, they can continue providing a fully functional service for as many days as necessary, until the situation is resolved and the activity can be resumed from the control centre.
Response times, availability and continuity
The simulation was used to measure response times and calibrate the availability of the services without affecting their continuity. The drill proceeded without incident and went completely unnoticed by air traffic. The procedure prepared in the previous months was followed at all times, and the existing COVID-19 protocols were observed.
For Arsenio Fernández, director of ENAIRE's Southern Region, "this drill proves yet again our ability to continue to provide services in any circumstances, even when natural disasters strike". For the director, "investments in digitisation and new technologies in recent years were put to the test in a drill that confirms ENAIRE's ability to withstand any event that could jeopardise the provision of air traffic services".
This activity is part of ENAIRE's commitment to continuous service improvement, enhanced resilience, modernisation and air safety, as set out in our roadmap, the Flight Plan. ENAIRE's crisis centres are ready to manage air traffic for as long as necessary until potential incidents are resolved.
