Pristina, 26 October - The Pristina International Airport ran a live emergency exercise on Tuesday (26 October) by simulating a crash of a passenger jet before takeoff.

This exercise is part of the airport obligations towards Civil Aviation Authorities to conduct an emergency situation testing every two years. The last emergency situation exercise was held in November 2008.

The exercise was supported by an EU-funded project that aims to strengthen Kosovo borders/boundaries in particular to set new standards for entry and exit control. Upon completion of the project all visitors coming to Kosovo will experience similar procedures as if they would enter Europe via its external EU (Schengen) border.

\"Our project has set the standards for border control in Kosovo. These standards are now in line with the highest European standards and also with the Schengen Border Code,\" said Melvin Asin, Deputy Head of Operations of the European Commission Liaison Office.

“Today\'s exercise will improve the efficiency of Kosovo Police and improve our planning and response to a standard equal to and expected of other major European airports,” said Atifete Jahjaga, the Acting General Director of Kosovo Police.


Background information:

EU experts have assisted the airport officials to re-draft their emergency plan.

With the help of the EU-funded project, over 750 police officers have been trained in managing human interaction and EU best practices in the area of border control.

In addition to the assistance provided since May 2009 through this project, the EU will also introduce €3 million worth equipment for border police officers performing front line duties.

Kosovo Police controls around four million vehicles at Kosovo\'s entry and exit points each year, and checks up about 11 million passengers.