Residents and visitors in the Canary Islands may notice an unusual amount of aerial activity today, Thursday, 19th June, but there is no cause for concern. The Canary Islands Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre (ARCC), part of the Search and Rescue Service (SAR), will be carrying out a large-scale air accident simulation over the south of Gran Canaria.
The exercise, named CANASAR 2025, is organised by the Spanish Air Force. Its primary aim is to assess the effectiveness of search and rescue operations and to test the coordination between various local, regional and national agencies in the event of an air accident.
The ARCC holds the official responsibility for managing such incidents to ensure that responses are both swift and well-coordinated.
The drill will simulate a scenario involving a regional commercial aircraft and a military cargo plane crashing in an unspecified area of Gran Canaria. Similar training exercises are conducted periodically across different islands in the archipelago as part of ongoing preparedness efforts.
CANASAR 2025 will also be observed by international representatives from other SAR organisations, further highlighting the collaborative nature of the operation.
Authorities have advised the public not to be alarmed by the heightened aerial activity, which forms part of routine safety and emergency preparedness measures.
