Capita’s Fire Service College has expanded its aviation rescue training facilities to help airport firefighters prepare for major emergencies, as passenger journeys through UK airports reach record levels.
Two specialist training rigs introduced during 2026 give crews more opportunities to rehearse demanding aircraft incidents. They include a large-aircraft facility modelled on the Airbus A380, where teams can practise searching in smoke and low visibility, coordinating rescues across multiple levels and responding to incidents involving large numbers of casualties.
The Civil Aviation Authority recorded 302 million passenger journeys through UK and Crown Dependency airports in 2025, up from 295 million in 2024. European air traffic also grew by 4.3% in 2025, according to EUROCONTROL. [1, 2]
Recent fatal accidents underline the consequences when things go wrong. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recorded eight fatal accidents worldwide in 2025, compared with seven in 2024, although the overall accident rate improved. Serious accidents remain rare, making realistic practice important for teams preparing to respond to events they may seldom encounter in service. [3]
At the College in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire, the A380-style rig supports non-live-fire exercises, including smoke-filled searches, evacuation drills and incident command. It gives crews a setting in which to practise working together through the scale and complexity of a major aircraft emergency.
Mark Lester, Operations Director at the Fire Service College, said:
“Passengers rarely see the preparation behind an airport’s emergency response. For firefighters, that preparation means practising how to search an aircraft in poor visibility and coordinate with colleagues across multiple levels.
“These are situations crews need to rehearse before they encounter them for real. The new facilities give them more opportunities to develop those skills and test their decisions in a realistic aircraft environment.
“Through the Fire Service College, Capita helps the people responsible for responding to emergencies build and maintain the capability that essential UK services depend on.”
The expanded facilities support the College’s Aviation Firefighter Initial and Aviation Firefighter Conversion programmes for new and experienced airport firefighters from the UK and overseas. The programmes combine classroom learning, technology-enhanced training in the Immersive Skills Lab and practical aircraft-based scenarios.
Ends
Sources for the aviation figures
[1] Civil Aviation Authority, 24 February 2026. UK aviation officially breaks records with over 300m passenger journeys in 2025
The 302 million figure counts passenger journeys, not unique individuals, and includes Crown Dependency airports. The CAA reports 295 million journeys in 2024.
[2] EUROCONTROL, 5 May 2026. Annual Network Operations Report 2025
Traffic growth of 4.3% relates to the Network Manager area. It is a European network statistic, not a UK-only measure or an airport congestion measure.
[3] International Air Transport Association, 9 March 2026. IATA Releases 2025 Safety Report
IATA reports eight fatal accidents in 2025 and seven in 2024. Its all-accident rate fell from 1.42 to 1.32 per million flights. These figures use IATA’s reporting scope and do not establish that congestion caused accidents.
Media day on 29 October 2026
The Fire Service College will host journalists on Thursday 29 October at London Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 0RH. The programme includes the Immersive Skills Lab, a grounds tour, a major incident training demonstration and interviews with College spokespeople.
Arrivals are from 10.45am, with the main programme running from 11am to 4pm. Attendance and filming arrangements are managed by CMS Strategic with Capita Communications.
About the aviation training facilities
The two rigs were introduced during 2026. The larger facility, described by the College as Category 10, is modelled around the scale and complexity of the Airbus A380. It is a rescue training structure, rather than a flight simulator. Its exercises do not involve live fire.
The College’s media day also includes a separate demonstration on the wider incident grounds.
Media enquiries
Email: media@capita.co.uk
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