I am a chemtrail technician in the aviation industry, and a friend of my wife has asked her a question "How is your husband doing?" and my wife was surprised by the question and asked her "Why, what is the matter?" and she was told" Is your husband ok? he works on airplanes and they are carriers of the coronavirus". My wife was perplexed so I explained that I work on the domestic planes, not the international planes, and we are doing the maintenance that is longer than the overnight checks, but less than the "C" or "L" checks that are required by the manufacturer and the FAA. We use all the PPE(Personal Protection Equipment) that is required for our safety. I am not overly concerned, I am more concerned about going to events with a lot of people that might be sick and not do the right thing and stay home than working on airplanes. Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands...
I shanelessly clipped these from "Simply flying, a blog about Aviation and flying.
The coronavirus outbreak has triggered a surge of cabin cleaning frenzy among airlines. With measures inspired in equal amounts by public safety and self-preservation, they are now turning to hospital-grade disinfectants to kill any lingering viral particles.
Airlines are taking extra precautions to make sure travelers will not be exposed to the coronavirus on flights. The standard cleaning procedures have been upgraded and airlines are now using products capable of stopping STDs and the MRSA superbug.
Particularly powerful disinfectants have been used by Qantas, Korean Air, and Singapore Airlines on the planes used to evacuate people from the Chinese city of Wuhan, and from the Diamond Princess cruise ship after its quarantine in Yokohama, Japan.
The Qantas Boeing 747 that was used for the evacuation flights was cleaned for 36 hours, using a substance called Viraclean. Pillows, blankets, and headphones were all tossed out, and all the cabin surfaces sprayed with the disinfectant twice, and then wiped down again for good measure. The plane’s air filters, similar to those used in surgical theatres, were also replaced.
Korean Air favored a cleaning solution known as MD-125, which is said to knock out 142 bacteria and viruses, including salmonella, avian flu, and measles.
Cathay Pacific, of course, flying in and out of Hong Kong, is cleaning and disinfecting cabins, seats, galleys, and washrooms after every flight. This includes IFE screens, tray tables, baby bassinets, and armrests. The airline has seen half of its fleet parked due to the virus outbreak.
Singapore Airlines also disinfects surfaces on all flights from Hong Kong and mainland China. Furthermore, they implement a measure known as “fogging” on all flights arriving from these destinations. During this process, a team of two or three staff fogs the cabin with a chemical named Calla 1452, which has been proven effective against avian flu, the H1N1 virus, and SARS.
Delta Air Lines is also fogging the cabins of all incoming flights from Asia and Italy with an undisclosed “EPA-registered disinfectant on all flights which is rated to combat many communicable diseases” It plans to expand the use of the technique to all flights arriving from countries where the coronavirus is present.
Its fellow US carrier United Airlines is using an upgraded cleaning process on all international flights that was implemented during the Ebola outbreak in 2014. Every hard surface that has been touched by a passenger is wiped down with disinfectant after every international flight. Also, any plane that has carried a person infected with the coronavirus is taken out of service for complete sterilization, a spokesperson from the airline said to the Los Angeles Times.
IATA has produced a document with guidelines for airlines on how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. These detail how every surface of the aircraft should be cleaned for stopover times under and over an hour, as well as for stops overnight.
They also include other directives for the aircraft’s crew. For example, temperature screening passengers with a non-contact infrared thermometer to detect anyone with fever, protective equipment for crew members, and onboard emergency quarantine measures.
Amid the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, airlines are taking some precautions when it comes to minimizing the risk of infection. Delta Air Lines, in particular, is taking some big steps when it comes to sanitizing its aircraft. Simple Flying takes a look.
Delta Air Lines has posted information about its aircraft sanitation procedures. Delta’s aircraft cleaning teams are trained to use high-grade, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered disinfectants on flights.
Back in February, Delta used fogging techniques on the few remaining flights from Asia to the United States. In addition, Delta has deployed these fogging techniques on flights from Italy and is sourcing additional machines to disinfect more transatlantic flights.
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In addition, Delta has provided its ground cleaning crews with a 19-point checklist on cabin cleanliness. These points include disinfecting cabin surfaces, as well as areas of high customer contact such as seats, seatback pockets, and tray tables. This also includes spaces in the galleys and lavatories. Again, these sanitizing procedures use high-grade EPA-registered disinfectants.
When it comes to flights landing in the United States from Asia, Delta is also utilizing additional sanitizing procedures. All tableware, cutlery, dishes, and glassware undergo separate disinfection prior to being washed.
All unused inbound supplies are being discarded. Bedding and headphones undergo a separate washing and sanitizing process from other bedding to minimize the risk of cross-contamination.
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When it comes to galley equipment, carts and carriers from inbound Asia flights are also undergo separate sanitizing and washing processes to minimize cross-contamination. Delta also has, onboard, Tidy Kits. Within these kits are gloves, disinfectant wipes, small mops, trash bags, and a trash pickup device for lavatory cleaning.
In addition, Delta is stocking more wellness items on its flights to and from Asia. This includes items like hand sanitizer, gloves, and surgical masks. Passengers in all cabin classes will find amenity kits that contain hand sanitizer or cleansing towelettes.
For most passengers, one concern may be air circulation onboard the aircraft. All of Delta’s international widebodies and narrowbodies like the 737s, 757s, A319s, A320s, and A321s have air circulation systems. The 717s, on the other hand, use 100% fresh outside air.
These systems bring outside fresh air that is sterilized in a high-temperature compressor and ozone purifier. This mixes with the existing cabin air that recirculates through an industrial-grade HEPA filter. According to Delta, these filters can extract viruses as small as 0.01 micrometers while coronaviruses range from 0.08 to 0.16 micrometers.
While Delta is taking precautions to ensure its aircraft are thoroughly sanitized, passengers can still take additional measures. This includes wiping down your seat area again with a disinfectant clothing and washing your hands after you cough, sneeze, or use the restroom. In addition, passengers should maintain their general wellbeing in flight. One simple way of doing this inflight is to make sure that you drink plenty of water.
God to see they're taking cleanliness seriously, and that should reassure airline travelers at least somewhat. Hopefully this level of cleaning continues even after the current Covid19 crisis.
ReplyDeleteHey Aaron;
DeleteI hope so also, We try to keep a clean plane but some of the customers we get...sheesh....LOL
Yep, lot of behind the scenes work that John Q never knows about.
ReplyDeleteHey Old NFO;
DeleteYep a lot of stuff that most people don't see and are clueless about. Only us aviation types get it and have an idea.