We now live in a world where everyone is concerned about contaminants, who we stand next to, how they’re breathing, what they touched, all matters.
This has had a rippling effect on the aerospace industry, as passengers are afraid.
According to a survey conducted by IATA,
68% of passengers expressed fear over sitting next to a contagious person,
56% of the respondents are concerned about traveling near others,
42% of passengers remained concerned about using aircraft facilities,
42% concerned about the queuing process during check-in, baggage handling, and security checks,
38% are concerned about using airport facilities, such as restrooms and lavatory facilities,
37% of passengers also stated concern with breathing the recirculated cabin air,
Yet, there is no denying people long for traveling. They need it.
With all the information dripped to us daily, we know one of the most significant exposures to contaminants is in high traffic and high touch areas.
These areas should continue to get investments of time and money.
Lavatories, security checks, and baggage handling all pose a higher risk due to passengers’ higher volume in these areas.
Team members should routinely disinfect door handles, sink faucets, railings, escalators, handrails, elevator buttons, and everything else that gets repeatedly touched in the airport.
The flight crew should disinfect the lavatory handles, faucets, toilets, and buttons throughout the flight on the aircraft. After the flight, the flight crew should thoroughly clean the passenger’s overhead instrumentation and seats.
Cleaning and disinfecting are a top priority for operators. It’s a social responsibility but also to continue to build a base of loyal customers.
What you don’t hear a lot about is passengers concerned with breathing contaminated air.
At the airport, proper air ventilation should get executive attention. They should minimize the percentage of air recirculating and try to use fresh air whenever possible.
Inside the aircraft, HEPA is still considered the best for filtering our particulates throughout the recirculated cabin air. The problem is HEPA only captures particulate matter. The filter does not neutralize pathogens on surfaces. Think of the person that sneezes on a lavatory door handle or whips their nose and touches other surfaces.
HEPA is a minimum standard for minimizing contaminants’ spread and is a required based minimum. All operators are advised to either install, use, and maintain HEPA filters.
To ensure passengers’ safety, all operations should focus on a routine cleaning procedure at the airport and in the aircraft and maintain a gold standard procedure for air recirculation.