Life at MAN - Martin Thwaites, Emergency Preparedness Manager
We all hope things are going to go smoothly on our journey through the airport - and the vast majority of the time, they do. But a range of emergency situations can arise that might inconvenience or delay passengers, and even, in some cases, bring airport operations to a temporary stop - from inclement weather to technical issues, and fire evacuation alerts to medical emergencies.
Thankfully there is a full-time team at Manchester Airport dedicated to planning for these scenarios, considering the range of possible outcomes and impacts - and putting measures in place to mitigate them, minimising the impact on our passengers on those rare occasions when something does go amiss.
Martin Thwaites, an Emergency Preparedness Manager on the airport's Business Continuity & Resilience Team, talks us through what his role involves in this month's edition of our Life at MAN Q&A series.
How long have you been working at Manchester Airport?
I joined Manchester Airports Group (MAG) prior to the summer of 2011, and aside from a short hiatus during the Covid 19 pandemic, I have been here for over 12 years in various roles across the business.
What does your job involve on a typical day?
As an Emergency Preparedness Manager, my responsibilities range from the development of crisis response plans for critical areas of the business, dealing with a wide range of potential scenarios, to assisting operational teams with assessing the potential risks and business impact to them.
When a disruptive event occurs, sometimes these plans must be dropped for the day to support our on-call members from the Incident Management Team, which is made up of trained volunteers from various roles across the business, who coordinate our response to these kinds of events.
The team and I are also responsible for airport-wide emergency exercises and training to maintain compliance with our regulators, the Civil Aviation Authority.
Following an incident or exercise, I may host what we call a ‘Cold Debrief’ with support from the Incident Management Team and participants of an exercise, teams affected by a disruptive event, or the wider airport community. We'll discuss lessons learned, which we can then use to shape and inform improvements to our emergency plans.
What skills and training are needed for the role?
If you have an appetite for personal development, the ability to respond effectively to developing incidents and you can build effective, meaningful working relationships whilst networking then you have the critical skills to begin a role with emergency planning.
Having operational experience of the airport, or of crisis response is an additional benefit as any skill gaps are likely covered by another member of the team, which is key to our collective success in developing each other’s understanding and expanding our knowledge along the way.
What constitutes an ‘emergency’ for the purposes of emergency and resilience planning?
We would interpret it as a situation that poses a threat to the safety of aircraft or to airport security, and ultimately, could put people at risk if we don't deal with it swiftly. That's why it is so important to have these plans in place.
As a Category 2 responder under the UK’s Civil Contingencies Act, Manchester Airport can declare a Major Incident, with our on-site Fire and Rescue team being the frontline for most incident responses, whether on the airfield or around the terminals.
What kind of training do you do with colleagues from across the operation to prepare them for potential emergency situations?
Exercises are hugely important in that they give teams across the airport a chance to familiarise themselves with the plans that are in place, especially when a process has undergone a significant change. We work with teams by exercising plans held either centrally with the Airport Control team, or locally with operational departments, and we will sometimes conduct live exercises with a realistic scenario acted out with volunteers to support the response.
There are some scenarios that are almost impossible to replicate with a live exercise in a busy airport environment, so to prepare for these and put our plans to the test, we host table-top exercises with teams where the aim is to validate our emergency response.
Additionally, I help develop our operational Business Continuity plans, by supporting and training teams across the airport to complete their Business Impact Analysis statements.
What do you enjoy the most about working at the airport?
The people, for certain. Whether it’s the friendships I’ve made over the years, through to meeting new colleagues for the first time, it’s the community that makes the airport great. I think most of us working here also have anecdotes of memorable passenger interactions that have left their impression on us too.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone considering a career at the airport?
If you have the opportunity, then do it. There are unbelievable possibilities that are open to everyone, you just have to take responsibility for your own development and embrace new challenges on the way.
Even if it’s a small gesture, like offering to share your knowledge by being an ambassador or mentor for someone unfamiliar to the operation, these commitments are noticed and before you know it, you can be leading your own team.
What do you like to do when you're not at work?
I have a few passions outside of work, including supporting the reigning 20-time Premier League Champions Liverpool FC and following every race in the F1 calendar, cheering for Lewis when I can. If I’m not taking time out watching sports, I’m a petrolhead, so I can be found attending something car related.
Which destination that we fly to from Manchester do you most want to visit?
A ticket to any of the Balearic Islands and I’ll be happy, Menorca being the only one I’ve not explored so far. The Italian Riviera is on the bucket list too, but most places within about 3 hours of flight time is probably enough air travel for me.