EATC organized its first FIT edition from 25th to 29th of September 2017. The training was hosted by the Italian Air force - 3rd Wing located in Verona Villafranca.
EATC took over the FIT training from European Air Group in 2016 and is now called to fully organize and lead the training. FIT is a basic interoperable training for junior air movements personnel. It aims at providing junior ground handlers with the skills and knowledge necessary to integrate successfully into a multinational environment.
In the 2017 edition, the attendees came from France, Belgium, Lithuania and Italy. They were trained by instructors from the EATC, Germany and Italy. EATC also provided the Training Supervisor. This multinational framework gave the participants the opportunity to pool and share practices, knowledge and experiences.
The training was mainly conducted in the Air Terminal Operation Centre where the participants had the opportunity to use the cargo hangar and the passenger terminal. Academics and practical trainings (such as the use of several types of palletization nets coming from the nations) were performed each day.
During the training a “special” scenario was organized in the passenger terminal. For this scenario two terrorist threats were found: a bomb in a luggage and weapon on a passenger. The participants used their expertise and studies to face the terrorist threat applying the evacuation procedures studied. This scenario involved the force protection, the explosive ordnance disposal unit (EOD unit) and the medical support. During the scenario trainees were introduced to screening equipment such a X-ray machines and metal detectors.
With this new activity, EATC increases officially the range of its cross-national trainings and exercises platform and reinforces its role as a center of expertise for air transport.
