EKO Cobra: Air Marshal exercise against hijacking

From October 10 to 14, 2022, an operational exercise took place at Vienna Airport. The exercise scenario involved a plane hijacking. An Airbus A320 of Austrian Airlines and two Eurofighters of the Austrian Armed Forces were involved.

Terrorists hijack a civilian passenger plane that has taken off from Vienna Airport. On board the plane are Austrian air marshals from the Cobra/DSE special forces unit, tasked with securing the flight and passengers. While still in the air, the air marshals attempt to overpower the terrorists. Two Eurofighters from the Austrian Armed Forces escort the passenger plane back to Vienna Schwechat Airport. Austrian Airlines and the air traffic controllers from Austro Control are informed. Meanwhile, police officers from EKO Cobra, along with special units from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, take position at Vienna Airport's airfield to secure the plane upon landing and conduct the operation.

This is the scenario of a final exercise for the air marshal unit of the Cobra/DSE special forces, as part of a five-day communication and coordination workshop from October 10 to 14, 2022, involving special units from 13 other nations, including the USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Switzerland.

"International terrorism is a threat to our security and poses major challenges for the police. That is why it is so important for our anti-terrorism unit Cobra to prepare for all possible scenarios together with emergency forces from Europe. This includes attacks on planes. Austria is taking a leading role with this international emergency exercise involving the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense, and I thank the Armed Forces for their professional partnership," said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner.

Austrian Airlines, Vienna Airport & Austro Control

"Exercises like this significantly contribute to ensuring the safety of our passengers and crew members. In emergencies and incidents, effective and well-trained procedures are crucial. Austrian Airlines trains for various scenarios at regular intervals and also took this exercise as an opportunity to train internal and cross-agency procedures realistically," said Austrian Airlines COO Francesco Sciortino.

"The cooperation between authorities, the Armed Forces, airlines, air traffic control, airports, and emergency organizations works excellently at Vienna Airport, as demonstrated in today's operational exercise. We thank all participants for this good cooperation," said Dr. Günther Ofner, Board Member of Vienna Airport AG.

"For Austro Control, safety is always the top priority. Therefore, I am very pleased that we, as the Austrian air navigation service provider, could make an important contribution to this exercise. It has been shown how crucial close cooperation and coordination between air traffic control, security authorities, airlines, and airports are in such cases, which was proven again today. Coordinated processes and prepared emergency plans are essential to be able to react correctly in case of emergency," said Philipp Piber, Managing Director of Austro Control.

Exercise with two different scenarios

On October 11 and 12, 2022, an exercise was conducted in a hangar of Austrian Airlines at Vienna Airport, involving special units from thirteen nations. The aim of the exercise was to efficiently communicate with airport personnel, air traffic control, and interceptor jets during a hijacking.

On October 13, 2022, as the conclusion of the three-day workshop, the operational exercise took place, assuming that an Airbus A320 of Austrian Airlines was hijacked by terrorists. What made the exercise special was that the scenario was carried out under real conditions.

"This interception exercise shows how well the cooperation between the forces of the Ministry of the Interior, Austro Control, airports, and the Armed Forces works for the safety of Austrians," said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner. "The Eurofighter is an important component of airspace surveillance. With the new budget, a contemporary airspace surveillance, through expansion and modernization, is ensured to protect Austria."

EU project "Enhancing In-Flight Security"

The exercises were intended to take further steps towards uniform European standards for special units in aircraft hijackings. The exercises took place as part of the EU-funded project "Enhancing In-Flight Security (EIFS)."

The EU project "Enhancing In-Flight Security," abbreviated EIFS, is funded by the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission. Currently, the German air marshal unit holds the project presidency. However, the operational exercise at Vienna Airport was conducted by the air marshals of the Cobra special forces unit as a work package of the current project.