Gulf Air Hosts Emergency Planning and Response Workshop

National carrier Gulf Air hosts two-day workshop for airlines executives on Emergency Planning and Response in Bahrain to ensure airlines are prepared in the event of an emergency.

Organised by the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO), the workshop was conducted by specialists from Kenyon International Emergency Services - a worldwide professional disaster management company specialising in the aviation sector.

Thirty five airline executives from airlines such as Emirates, Air Arabia, Kuwait Airways and Gulf Air were drawn from various functional divisions such as operations, safety and communications, to attend the workshop.

"Gulf Air is pleased to have had the opportunity to host this important workshop," said Mr. Gregory Janelle, Gulf Air Head of Emergency Response Planning.

He continued, "For any airline it is critical to be fully prepared in the event of an emergency. It is absolutely essential to have a team, which is professionally trained to handle various aspects of an emergency situation. The workshop has dealt with some crucial issues facing real-world crisis management plans and has offered practical ideas on how to respond to such situations."

Through practical exercises, group discussions and debates, the participants gained valuable insight into vitally important issues and functions such as running emergency call centres, human remains identification and repatriation, personal effects handling, family assistance, investigation, hull recovery and site restoration, crisis communications management and claims settlement.

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About Gulf Air
Gulf Air was founded in 1950. Today, it is owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain, and is the only truly pan Gulf carrier in the region. The airline's network stretches from Europe to Asia and covers 42 cities in 27 countries. The current fleet of Gulf Air consists of 29 aircraft.

The new network, based on a "wave" model, offers as many as 588 flights every week in the Middle East with more non-stop flights than any other airline.

The airline is also planning to re-fleet itself over the next five years to further strengthen its presence. It recently signed a deal worth nearly US $6 billion with Boeing to purchase up to 24 Boeing 787 aircraft and another deal with Airbus for 35 aircraft, including A320s and A330s, to help further aims to become the carrier of choice. Gulf Air's onboard service caters high quality products and services to its passengers, including the innovative, unique and award winning Sky Chefs and Sky Nannies.

For further information please contact:
Karunakaran Srinivasan
Content Manager
Corporate Communications Department
Gulf Air
P.O. Box 138
Manama
Kingdom of Bahrain
00973 17 32 7914