New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport has been carrying out a series of first-responder training exercises throughout October.
JFK has issued 12 travel alerts notifying passengers about live-fire drills scheduled this month, including the latest exercise on Tuesday.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport, told the Daily Mail that the fire exercises are required every year. Several sessions are held to ensure all relevant personnel can complete the training.
“A live-fire training exercise is being conducted, in which fire and smoke will be produced in a controlled fashion, away from public areas,” officials said in a social media warning.
The notice added that there was “no cause for alarm” and that the drills would not disrupt flight operations.
A traveler posted a photograph on X on October 14 showing flames and thick smoke rising from an area near the airport’s tarmac.
JFK responded by explaining that the scene was part of a live-fire exercise designed to create fire and smoke under controlled conditions and away from public areas.
The Port Authority spokesperson described the flames as controlled burns used for emergency-response training.
The airport also staged a “full-scale emergency response exercise” simulating a plane crash. Actors portrayed injured passengers, including some who screamed during the scenario, as part of a Federal Aviation Administration requirement that airports conduct the exercise every three years.
“This exercise will not impact flight operations, but smoke and emergency vehicles may be seen at or around” the airport, officials cautioned in a Facebook post.
John F Kennedy International Airport has issued 12 October travel alerts about live-fire training drills, while travelers have shared images of flames and smoke rising near the tarmac
On Saturday, JFK carried out a full-scale emergency exercise simulating a plane crash, with actors posing as injured and distressed passengers
The FAA requires commercial airports to conduct a full-scale emergency drill once every three years. However, it remains unclear why JFK has scheduled such a large number of separate fire exercises.
Saturday’s simulation began at 10 a.m. with participants receiving a scenario stating that an aircraft carrying an “unknown” number of people and an “unknown” amount of fuel had crashed, according to The New York Times.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: What Happened To Stella Magz? Tragedy Explained In Tiktok – NewsFinale
Actors wore injury tags around their necks, while actual emergency crews practiced evacuating a Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-900 aircraft used in the exercise.
Responders established an emergency operations center and gradually received more information about the mock disaster: the aircraft was portrayed as an international arrival carrying 102 people.
Cloth figures represented fatalities, and a smoke machine helped recreate the conditions. The aircraft’s evacuation slides were not deployed, and no wreckage was scattered across the field, unlike what would be expected after a real crash, The Times reported.
“In a real accident, this whole area would be covered in foam,” Sarah McKeon, the Port Authority’s director of aviation, told the newspaper.
The simulation lasted roughly two hours and brought together more than 100 emergency personnel from city, state and federal agencies.
It was the first full-scale emergency drill held at a major New York City-area airport since a deadly crash at LaGuardia in March.
Emergency crews have been conducting large-scale disaster-response drills at the busy New York City airport
Saturday’s simulation was the first full-scale drill at a major New York City-area airport since the fatal La Guardia crash in March when an Air Canada plane struck a fire truck
An Air Canada flight with 72 passengers and four crew on board collided with a fire truck while landing at LaGuardia on March 22, killing the two pilots.
The aircraft struck the rescue vehicle, which was responding to a separate incident.
The FAA found that two air-traffic controllers left work early before the fatal crash, sources familiar with the investigation told The Wall Street Journal.
The remaining staff at the LGA tower had no backup to handle high workloads, the sources said.
The Daily Mail contacted the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the FAA for comment.