Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in the US is planning to test its wireless emergency alerts (WEA) system on 15 January.
The WEA system sends emergency text messages and an alert tone to all compatible mobile devices located in a predetermined area.
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Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), which operates LAX, is one of the US Government agencies with authorisation from the Communications Commission (FCC) to use the system.
WEA will be used to alert nearby people about any imminent safety threats in their area. It is also used to send presidential alerts, AMBER alerts and extreme weather warnings by the National Weather Service.
The test will take place at 10am local time (GMT -8000) on 15 January. The test message will read: “This is a test of the LAX wireless emergency alert system. No action is required.”
This message will be transmitted to devices located in the area surrounded by La Cienega Boulevard in the east, Imperial Highway in the south, Pershing Drive in the west and Westchester Parkway / Arbor Vitae Street in the north.
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By GlobalDataLAWA Emergency Management director Justin Pierce said: “Safety is the number one priority at Los Angeles World Airports, and the WEA system provides us with another way to send critical information during an emergency directly to airport guests.
“While we hope that we will never need to use this system, conducting a full-scale test of the system will ensure that we have the capability to reach tens of thousands of airport employees and passengers with potentially lifesaving information.”
In 2018, San Francisco International Airport (SFO) secured approval from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to use their WEA system.
