In a development that bolsters its emergency response and rescue capabilities in the event of a ditched aircraft, a major airport in Southeast Asia has installed Zelim’s SWIFT Rapid Man Overboard Rescue Conveyor aboard its new fast maritime rescue and recovery vessels.

The airport’s emergency services division, which operates a fleet of rescue vessels, commissioned the first 40kt newbuild in September, with live drills in October confirming SWIFT’s capacity to vastly improve in-water rescue and recovery operations.

Sam Mayall, Zelim’s CEO, said: “Airports situated close to water have a responsibility to be prepared for the unthinkable. The SWIFT system presents an effective and proven solution to the challenges airports face following an aviation incident in the maritime environment.”

In the rare event of an aircraft ditching or a runway overrun, a waterborne rescue is required to recover passengers and crew.

Mayall furthered: “SWIFT’s performance in exercise drills was truly remarkable. We were able to recover a significant number of ‘casualties’ from the water in a matter of minutes, mitigating the risk of rescuer fatigue and casualty injury. We are confident that this project will lead to other partnerships with airports around the world as they look to ramp up airport safety.”

The decision to invest in the SWIFT conveyor follows an innovation challenge to identify solutions that could improve the speed and effectiveness of mass casualty recovery efforts. The undisclosed airport’s primary concern was fatigue and injury when using traditional person-in-water rescue and recovery methods, which often involve physically lifting individuals from the water.

Unlike conventional person-in-water rescue methods, SWIFT uses an innovative mechanical conveyor to lift casualties safely onboard, reducing the physical strain on rescuers and ensuring more efficient recoveries, even in high-casualty, high sea state scenarios. The rapid deployment technology can be manually or remotely operated to recover conscious and unconscious casualties in under a minute.

Zelim’s Chief Operating Officer, Stewart Gregory, said: “While emergency water landings are exceptionally rare, incidents such as the successful water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009 highlight the importance of well-equipped and well-trained rescue teams in ensuring positive outcomes. By integrating SWIFT technology into its operations, the airport sets a new benchmark for emergency preparedness and response across the aviation sector.”

The airport is also exploring the possibility of integrating Zelim’s ZOE Intelligent Detection technology to enhance situational awareness and coordination during emergency response operations.

The aviation sector has shown “considerable interest” in SWIFT, with Zelim also in final stage negotiations to supply SWIFT to a major European airport.