Madang Airport has nine additional Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting officers (ARFF) to boost its current strength of ARFF personnel to continue meeting Civil Aviation Safety Authority compliance and requirements.
The nine officers comprises of seven males and two females graduated recently in Madang as fully-fledged ARFF officers after completing a series of training since March 2021.
The addition of the new officers has boosted the strength of ARFF officers in Madang Airport from 11 to 20.
NAC Acting Chief Operating Officer, Alex Auga said, “These officers coming on board will boost ARFF staff capability at Madang Airport to meet the CASA requirements.
General Manager Regional Airports at NAC, Mark Sahin challenged the officers to read the CASA rules that governs the ARFF operations to better understand their job and to guide them do the right thing when on and off duty.
“NAC’s vision is to have smart airports, however, the organization must improve its capability of complying with the requirements of International Civil Aviation Organization and CASA, which regulates airport operations.
ARFF is an important function at Madang Airport because Madang is categorized as Category 6 aerodrome.
This means it has the minimum extinguishing agents, rescue and firefighting vehicles, sufficient ARFF personnel, optimum response capability and communication and alerting system to provide safety for passengers and aircraft in an emergency.
The boost in ARFF is timely for Madang Airport, as it undergoes upgrade and refurbishment to its aircraft pavement, runway extension, new terminal and new fire station buildings.