BLR Airport conducts 'Challenger 2026' full scale emergency exercise

Over 100 stakeholder agencies and 3,000 participants take part in one of the airport's most operationally intensive emergency preparedness drills

Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (BLR Airport) successfully conducted ‘Challenger 2026’, its Bi-annual full-scale emergency preparedness exercise, reaffirming its continued focus on safety, operational readiness and coordinated crisis response.

Conducted in line with DGCA Civil Aviation Requirements and ICAO guidelines, the large-scale exercise simulated a complex emergency scenario to evaluate the airport's preparedness, response systems, and multi-agency coordination. More than 100 stakeholder agencies and over 3,000 participants from across the aviation ecosystem took part in the drill, including airlines, airport stakeholders, government authorities such as the State Disaster Management Authority, District Disaster Management Authority, hospitals, military and paramilitary agencies, and civil society organisations.

The exercise assessed critical response mechanisms including emergency alert activation, firefighting and rescue operations, triage management, mobilisation of stakeholder emergency response resources, traffic management, and green corridor facilitation for rapid hospital transfers. It also evaluated the effectiveness of communication protocols and coordination timelines among participating agencies in a high-pressure operating environment.

A key highlight of this year's edition was that the exercise was conducted alongside live airport operations on the second runway, making Challenger 2026 one of the most operationally intensive emergency drills undertaken at BLR Airport.

This year’s exercise also introduced several new operational and technology-led interventions. BLR Airport deployed AI-enabled response support tools to help emergency teams access critical response protocols. A real-time incident reporting and tracking platform was also integrated to strengthen situational awareness and coordination across teams. Additionally, this year’s edition included helicopter-based casualty evacuation by the Indian Air Force to a private hospital facility. The exercise also marked the participation of the Indian Red Cross Society and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), further strengthening the collaborative emergency response framework.

Commenting on the successful completion of Challenger 2026, Hari Marar, MD & CEO, Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL), said, “As airport ecosystems become larger and more complex, emergency preparedness must continuously evolve. It demands constant coordination, agility, and the ability to respond decisively under diverse conditions. Challenger 2026 was designed to rigorously assess these capabilities at scale while airport operations continued in parallel. The exercise reflects the collective commitment of all participating agencies towards strengthening resilience, refining response frameworks, and ensuring that safety preparedness continues to evolve alongside the growth of modern aviation.”

Challenger 2026 forms an integral part of BLR Airport's long term emergency preparedness and business continuity framework. As the airport continues to grow in scale and complexity, such exercises play a critical role in strengthening readiness, validating response systems, and building a safer, more resilient airport ecosystem.