The staff of the Airport Detachment hosted pupils from the “Dante Alighieri” Primary School of San Donaci and gave a lecture at the “Giovanni Calò” Technical Commercial Institute of Francavilla Fontana. In addition to information on potential career prospects, the Detachment staff described the institutional, complementary, and support duties assigned to the Air Force and the activities carried out at the Brindisi Department. To this end, some videos produced by the Chief of Staff were also shown.
Monday 19, Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 March, furthermore, 75 pupils from the V classes of the “Dante Alighieri” Primary School in San Donaci (BR), accompanied by their teachers, visited the Detachment.
The staff of the Department explained to the pupils the activities carried out in Brindisi, particularly those of the 84th Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) Centre, which is part of the 15th Wing of Cervia (Ravenna). This centre, using HH-3F helicopters, ensures the 24-hour search and rescue of flight crews and maritime vessels in distress, contributing to public utility activities such as searching for missing persons at sea or in the mountains, emergency medical transport of critically ill patients, rescue of severely traumatised individuals, and aid to populations affected by natural disasters.
The visit to the control tower, the radar room and the meteorological station also created a lot of curiosity, where the staff showed the young guests how air traffic is managed and how weather forecasts are made.
Another particularly exciting moment for the children was meeting the airport falconer, who explained the importance of the work carried out by the falconry service for air safety.
The meetings with schools, included in the “2012 communication programme,” aim to increase students' knowledge of the Italian Air Force's values and traditions, and their awareness of the cultural and professional level of the courses offered at the Force's Training Institutes and Schools.
The Brindisi Airport Detachment, which reports to the Deputy Logistics Commander, provides support for peacekeeping (peacekeeping) of the United Nations Logistics Base (UNLB) and humanitarian operations of the World Food Programme (WFP), providing technical and medical assistance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to transit aircraft belonging to NATO countries. It also manages air traffic control for commercial flights transiting through Brindisi Airport. During 2011, the Air Traffic Control Service handled 22,000 movements, an increase of 3 % compared with the previous year, enabling Brindisi Airport to record over 2 million transit passengers.
