Moldovan authorities strengthen skills in handling severe airport incidents through OSCE and AIRPOL table-top exercise

Moldovan law enforcement and border agencies as well as representatives of Chisinau International Airport strengthened their skills in managing severe airport incidents through a video-based table-top exercise organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and AIRPOL in Chisinau, Moldova on 23 April.

"This exercise helped us identify both strengths and areas for improvement in our procedures. It offered a valuable opportunity to test our joint response and enhance interagency communication," said Andrei Trofimov, Deputy Head of the General Inspectorate of Border Police of the Republic of Moldova.

Sixty participants worked with AIRPOL experts and used realistic scenarios to learn how to effectively assess priorities, define response strategies and identify co-ordination mechanisms in the event of a major airport incident.

“Effective airport security depends on strong partnerships and clear procedures. Moldova’s active engagement shows its determination to strengthen preparedness, and AIRPOL is eager to support this effort,” said Peter Nilsson, Police Commissioner and Head of AIRPOL.

The participants also worked on tactics for strengthening interagency co-ordination and improved their understanding of their roles during complex airport emergencies, vulnerabilities in emergency planning and the capacity limits of existing response frameworks.

The exercise is part of the OSCE extrabudgetary project “Support to the Law Enforcement Agencies in Moldova in Response to the Security Challenges in the Region”, which focuses on strengthening the country’s law enforcement capacity for combating transnational organized crime both at the border and within the country. The project receives financial support from France, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.