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How to disinfect aircraft in the era of covid-19?

A few months ago, when air traffic was not so much reduced, many airlines expanded the standard cleaning of aircraft cabins to include new special procedures. Experts in the world note that when the time comes to prepare planes for return to the sky, these measures will be more relevant than ever.



How did it all start?


Standard cabin cleaning is usually carried out during the shift between flights. These procedures may include garbage collection, wiping surfaces with various disinfectants, etc. However, much changed during covid-19. It is also worth noting that, even before the pandemic, a number of airlines conducted more thorough cleaning of their interiors, which included even spraying aerosol during the flight ( practice in Australia ) . For the most part, we are talking about carriers that fly to Asia, but not only. Many countries require the so-called “disinsection of aircraft” arriving from places where insect-borne diseases spread.

Pandemic


During the pandemic, a number of airlines expanded the lists of events and purchased additional special disinfectants and apparatus for aerosol treatment of salons.


Aircraft fogging. Delta.

At the same time, when everything was just beginning, in some cases the salons were treated only with rags and napkins. Manually.


Handling Singapore Airlines cabin. Photo: Jeremy Long.

Just look at the cabin, and quite obvious questions arise. How carefully wiped the seats? Have all folding tables processed? What about pens? Armrests, buttons, ventilation? Etc. There are a lot of such details in modern liners. In this case, the aerosol is the next step in ensuring safety: it is able to penetrate into inaccessible places, and also saves time on processing.


Handling the cabin of an Thai Airlines aircraft arriving from China. January 28, 2020.

With the development of the pandemic, a number of air carriers purchased aerosol spray equipment on their sides. For example, the three largest US airlines Delta, United, American did this, and they are not the only ones. Other airlines also used similar practices: Royal Jordanian, Qantas, Vietnam Airlines, Korean, etc.


Interior Processing at Frontier Airlines.


Salon processing in United ( video clip ).

Various disinfectants were used. Information is available for some, but not for others. At Delta, for example, they confined themselves to claiming that the facility is registered with the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), and it is highly effective and is used on all trans-Pacific flights arriving in the United States. Korean Air reported that it used MD-125, a diluted version of the D-125 washing solution, which is used in various industries. MD-125 has been reported to act against 142 bacteria and viruses, including salmonella, bird flu, HIV and measles. Qantas wrote about Viraclean, a disinfectant in Sydney's Whiteley Corp.


Interior processing. Photo businesstraveller.com

Aerosol treatments also have their own nuances. More often you can find specialized mobile sprayers of fine aerosol. It is important to pay attention to this, because at the same time sprayers were also used.



What is the difference? Sprayers are inferior to finely dispersed aerosol, which in the form of fog penetrates into inaccessible places, filling the entire volume of the room.


Handling a Boeing 787 arriving from Wuhan. Photo by Royal Jordanian airlines.

The dispersion of the aerosol can vary from the largest droplets of 50-100 microns. during irrigation, to smaller ones - 3.5-10 microns. Lower dispersion - higher penetrating ability and more efficient processing ( MODERN METHODS OF DISINFECTION AND STRUGGLE AGAINST. Sanitary and Epidemiological Control. Labor Protection No. 4 2019 / MPI) One of the main advantages of finely divided aerosol is also the fact that it is also able to disinfect air. Unlike large droplets, which fall almost immediately on the surface to be treated, the fog with a disinfectant is kept in the air and gradually settles.

New challenges


“To ensure the highest level of passenger safety, starting midnight on March 25, 2020, Vietnam Airlines will spray and sanitize its entire fleet with disinfectant when landing in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam Airlines is the only airline in Vietnam that daily disinfects all operating aircraft, ”- Vietnam Airlines.
Above is one example of how airlines begin to work in new realities. This is a market, and no one has canceled the fact that when flights begin to resume again, people will trust more those airlines that take maximum measures to ensure safety.


Photo by Vietnam Airlines

The processing procedure at Vietnam Airlines, for example, includes two stages: spraying the aerosol and cleaning the equipment with a special solution. The airline also said that in addition to disinfecting the aircraft after each flight, the disinfectant will also be sprayed and left overnight.

Vietnam Airlines is not the only carrier to take these measures.

Airlines tell and show how and what they do. Delta airlines shares their new technologies at Delta Clean.


Aircraft Fogging Enhances Customer Safety | Delta Air Lines.

Delta will sanitize each flight with electrostatic spray guns.

The airline reported that from April 1, all Delta planes on domestic flights will undergo special cabin cleaning during the night. The aircraft will also be processed before each flight. Since the beginning of May, the airline began to disinfect aircraft before each flight.

The presented examples are not single. On the one hand, this is, of course, a concern for security, but at the same time it is working with clients and an unambiguous message: “it’s safe to fly with us”.

The importance of expanding aircraft disinfection measures becomes more apparent over time. OAG, an agency that analyzes civil transportation data, reported that disinfection of aircraft and airports is likely to be the main steps needed to get people flying again.


OAG data.

According to the agency, these measures will have a more significant effect than reducing the cost of fares on flights.

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