MULTAN: The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) carried out a full-scale emergency exercise at the Multan International Airport (MIAP) on Thursday to bolster airport safety and emergency preparedness.

The exercise was conducted in accordance with the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to improve coordination, communication, and resource-sharing among various response agencies.

It began with a fuel firefighting demonstration led by PAA’s specialised fire-tenders, followed by a large-scale rescue operation supported by Edhi, Rescue 1122, and PAA’s internal teams.

All concerned departments, including Pakistan Army Aviation, local fire brigades, public hospital ambulances, and the Edhi Foundation, participated to test readiness levels for critical situations.

During the exercise, exactly 70 passengers were successfully evacuated after a simulated fire erupted following a symbolic aircraft crash landing.

The entire rescue operation was completed in 15 minutes.

Chief Fire Officer Aslam Rizvi led the operation.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2026