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Emergency Planning ahead of political tensions in Congo
Air Partner plc - 04 nov 2015
In these ever more turbulent times, duty of care to employees has become paramount. Whether it’s natural disaster, war, humanitarian aid or security issues, having a well structured evacuation plan is essential to employee safety in times of crisis.
As the political tensions began to increase in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ahead of the 2016 polls our Emergency Planning Team received calls from two clients on the 21st October, concerned about increasingly violent demonstrations and a deteriorating security situation. They asked us to prepare contingency evacuation plans and to source airlift solutions.
Within one hour of initial contact the client was fully briefed on all aspects of the potential evacuation task and had been provided with three operators that could undertake flights to a safe haven if needed. We continued to monitor aircraft availability as the situation evolved and eventually stabilised.
In parallel to the Congo tensions, two other clients asked us to scope possible solutions for an evacuation from Cote d’Ivoire in case that country’s elections led to a period of violence.
Thankfully, both situations were resolved in a peaceful manner, but they were a great example of how our emergency evacuation planning can provide prompt, flexible and robust solutions to rapidly evolving situations. Such support provides clients’ management teams with essential information upon which to base critical decisions and contributes greatly to the safety of staff based in high-risk areas.