Airport tests major incident response

Tuesday, 7 October 2025 at 06:00

Jersey's response to a major incident at the airport will be tested today.

Dubbed 'Exercise Starling', it will check how services deal with an incident involving an aircraft.

Fire, police, ambulance, hospital and port staff, as well as honorary officers, will be involved in the training, volunteer actors playing the parts of injured people.

Organisers say some of the volunteers 'may look distressed or appear to need medical attention'. They have asked people not to be alarmed.

There will be extra blue-light activity around the airport, and at the General Hospital which is also taking part.

Ben Spiers, Head of Airport Fire and Airside Operations at Ports of Jersey, says, “Exercise Starling is a fantastic opportunity to test and validate the Airport’s emergency response procedures alongside the Island’s emergency services.

"Our staff regularly train for a variety of incidents, and full-scale exercise, help us keep improving our emergency response and business continuity plans as well as validating our aerodrome certification with the Office of the Director of Civil Aviation (OCDA).”

Richard Blake, Jersey’s Deputy Emergency Planning Officer, says the island plans for a least one 'live play' major incident exercise every year.

"It’s a great way to test our plans in a controlled environment and learn from the experience.”

It is happening between 4pm and 10pm today (7 October). Flights won't be affected.