Officers from Essex Police teamed up with staff at Stansted Airport overnight to run a terror attack simulation.
The high-intensity training exercise took place between 12am and 3am today, and simulated a firearms attack.
The exercise is part of an ongoing programme to prepare officers for potential emergencies. It was not in response to any specific threat or intelligence regarding the airport.
Deputy Airport Commander Chief Inspector Richard Phillibrown, said: “This was a really positive exercise where we were able to test our response to a would-be terror attack.
“During the live play we tested our tactical response to terrorists with firearms and how we would deal with the challenge in practice.
“Stansted is the UK’s fourth busiest airport and more than 26 million passengers pass through there each year so it’s essential we’re prepared for any eventuality.
“There’s no specific intelligence currently to suggest there may be an attack at Stansted but as the UK terror threat level is at ‘severe’ it’s really important we carry out these exercises to make sure we’re ready should the worst happen.
“I hope these kinds of exercises also give the public confidence that they are safe when using the airport.
“I’d also like to thank Manchester Airport Group and all the staff at Stansted for their support and co-operation.”
John Farrow, London Stansted’s Security & Customer Services Director, said: “The safety and security of passengers, staff and airport infrastructure will always be our overriding priority so it’s vital we collaborate with our airport partners and the emergency services to prepare, develop and test how we protect against and respond to a wide range of operational scenarios and incidents.”
In the unlikely situation that you are caught up in a terror attack the advice is to run, hide, and tell.
Run to the nearest place of safety, if you can’t run then hide as best as you can, and importantly, tell the emergency services where you are and what you can see.
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