Statement by SOGAER on Darwin Airline's press release of June 22nd 2015
With reference to the press release issued today by Darwin Airline, SOGAER – managing company of Cagliari Airport – specifies that:
According to the laws and the regulations currently in place, only the local Air Traffic Control (ATC) unit is responsible for assessing if an aircraft is considered to be in danger following a specific request made by the aircraft’s pilot in command (PIC) or when detecting a potential emergency. Moreover the ATC also decides when to alert the local emergency services in order to bring them to the state of readiness considered appropriate.
For its part, after receiving instructions from the local ATC unit, the airport managing company must activate the Aerodrome Emergency Plan and cannot – in such circumstances – decide to “autonomously activate the standard Aerodrome Emergency Plan by calling firemen, coast guard, ambulances and airport staff for action” as reported by Darwin Airline’s press release of today.
Furthermore, SOGAER declares not to have alerted the press in this specific instance.