Major airport exercise

How Cobra saved passengers from terrorists

In an emergency, access takes place within seconds.(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

Spectacular scenes took place at Austrian airports on Tuesday: As part of an anti-terror exercise, 100 men from the Cobra task force rescued passengers and crew in Graz - it was a rehearsal for an emergency, which is becoming more likely. A fatal collision was simulated in Vienna.

For hours, a team from the Cobra South task force has been negotiating with the men who hijacked a plane in Feldkirchen near Graz, including passengers and crew - but in vain. The seizure appears to be the last possible resort: around 100 Cobra officers storm the plane using so-called staircase vehicles, and a short time later two terrorists are taken away.

The hostages are safe and sound and the Libelle police helicopter can take off again. Everything happens in a matter of seconds - just like in an emergency.

The perpetrators are taken away in a matter of seconds.(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

The men from the Cobra task force storm the aircraft.(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

Exercise for an emergency (from left): Alexander Gsteu (Eurowings Base Captain Graz and Vienna), Gerald Ortner (Styrian State Police Director) and Kurt Kornberger (Site Commander Cobra South Operations Command).(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

An exercise in new dimensions
It is the largest exercise of its kind, which took place at Graz Airport on Tuesday under the title "Alpha 9". "International regulations stipulate such an exercise every two years. This year, over 500 people are involved," says Doris Pölt, press officer at Graz Airport. While scenarios such as a plane crash were on the agenda in previous years, this time it was a terrorist threat.

"The protection of citizens and employees is our top priority," explains Provincial Police Director Gerald Ortner. It is becoming increasingly important to be prepared for operations like this. "Ultimately, however, the unexpected will happen," Kurt Kornberger interjects. And indeed: as the site commander of Cobra South, he has set up a scenario that neither the elite police officers nor the acting passengers and Eurowings crew knew about.

Emergency rehearsals were also held in Vienna on Tuesday: 

"Fire inferno after collision at airport"
An emergency drill also took place in Vienna on Tuesday: An airplane had collided with a passenger bus - dozens of people were injured as a result. The fire department and Red Cross in particular played a major role in this scenario. Because all organizations have to work together in an emergency anyway, communication between the emergency services needs to be trained. In the Graz operation, rescue vehicles also had to enter the site as undetected as possible.

The regional police directorate was in charge of the operation, as was communication with the public. "The last few years have made it particularly clear to us that the unforeseeable can happen at any time," says Wolfgang Grimus, Managing Director of Graz Airport.