Large-scale counterterrorism drill staged at Hong Kong airport to strengthen city’s response to bomb attacks, marauding knifemen

More than 200 police, fire and security personnel deployed for exercise drawing on experiences from Brussels bombings five years ago

Elite police unit ‘Flying Tigers’, bomb disposal team among those tackling rampaging knifemen, explosives during Friday’s operation, which closed off a third of airport’s departure hall

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The Friday morning excercise was organised by the Inter-departmental Counter Terrorism Unit and the force’s operations wing. Photo: Handout

Published: 9:55am, 23 Apr 2021Updated: 4:24pm, 23 Apr 2021

More than 200 emergency services and security officers have held a large-scale counterterrorism drill at Hong Kong International Airport to strengthen the city’s response to bomb attacks and incursions from hostage-taking knifemen.

Code-named “Ironwill”, officers from police and fire services were deployed early on Friday for the practice scenario, which was modelled on a 2016 terrorist attack in Brussels.

The exercise started shortly after midnight with a participant acting as a member of the public spotting an unattended bag in the departure hall of the airport in Chek Lap Kok, alerting the Aviation Security Company and police to a suspected explosive device.

Soon after, five armed “terrorists” launched a knife attack in the hall on passers-by, taking several hostages and threatening to detonate a bomb.

Police’s airport security unit, and later the elite Special Duties Unit, known as the Flying Tigers, appeared on the scene, with the force’s negotiation cadre also deployed.

As part of the mock operation, “Flying Tigers” officers neutralised the group after a one-hour stand-off to free all the hostages without injury, while ambulance crews from the Fire Services Department tended to other casualties.

Hong Kong police’s elite Special Duties Unit move in during the mock operation code-named ‘Ironwill’. Photo: Handout

The suspected explosive devices were later diffused by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau.