More than 100 stakeholder agencies and over 3,000 participants from across the aviation ecosystem took part in the full-scale emergency preparedness drill, ‘Challenger 2026’, at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Thursday.
The exercise, conducted in line with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) requirements and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines, simulated a complex emergency scenario to evaluate the airport’s preparedness, response systems, and multi-agency coordination.
Participants included airline staff, 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 Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) said 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.
BIAL said that 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 KIA.
This year’s exercise also introduced several new operational and technology-led interventions. KIA 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.
“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,” Hari Marar, managing director and CEO, BIAL said.