Aircraft Disinfection: How Do We Do?

The whole world is going through the coronavirus pandemic and it has been a rough year for us all. After being captive for months, the economy has gradually started to resume. With the resumption of the economy, the airline sector has stepped in too as people have to travel for work, to reunite with their family, and so forth. Since we have been flying during unprecedented times, it is our duty to maintain the utmost hygiene to ensure the safety of our valued passengers. Thus, the team at Buddha Air has been disinfecting its aircraft after every use as per the guidelines provided by IATA and CAAN to kill infectious germs, if present, and to prevent any possible infection.

First and foremost, passengers not properly wearing a mask and not maintaining social distance are forbidden from getting on board the aircraft. Whereas, the stringent screening will be done at the check-in counter before the passengers proceed towards the next stage. Passengers showing symptoms of the covid-19 virus, Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and Respiratory Ailments shall not be allowed to board on the plane. When the ramp bus arrives, passengers must form a queue maintaining at least one-meter distance from others. They will be boarded on the ramp one-by-one and will be seated maintaining social distance. The ramp bus will be entirely sprayed with disinfectants after every use. After getting off the ramp bus and before they enter the plane, the crew will hand over every passenger with a face shield that must be worn throughout the plane ride. The face mask and face shield must not be taken off at any stance.

Passengers aren’t allowed to walk through the passageways and use the lavatory during the flight. They must use the lavatories installed in the airport premises. Until further notice, due to the pandemic, there are no policies for carrying live animals. Magazines and in-flight catering too won’t be provided during the flight but water will be provided only upon request. After every flight, our trained aircraft disinfection personnel will be provided with masks, protective eye gear, gloves, and apron to operate their disinfecting procedures and will disinfect the entire aircraft by spraying a concentration of approved disinfectants. Assigned staff will clean their assigned regions to prevent any possible cross-contamination. All the doors related to cargo, service, and passenger will be kept open for proper ventilation before the commencement of the aircraft disinfection process, as per the guidelines of IATA and CAAN.

Every surface exposed and touched will be disinfected to kill the infectious germs, if present. All the cleaning items will be marked with different colors to use them separately for the aisles, lavatories, galleys, flight deck, cabin attendant seats, and railings and all items will be thoroughly cleaned which includes the cabin attendant call switch, drawers, waste bins, seat harness buckle, armrest, communication phone, etc. All the disposable protective equipment will be dumped in a double waste bag for disposal after completing the disinfecting procedure, whereas the reusable equipment will be sterilized, washed with detergents, hot water, soaked in a diluted bleach solution, and dried before reuse.

Our cleaning personnel will wash/ sanitize their hands before and after getting rid of their protective gear and the entire disinfecting process will be strictly monitored and entry will be made in the Aircraft Preventive Disinfection log. The team has been putting in tremendous efforts to disinfect every nook of the aircraft and to make your travel safe. We seek the same cooperation from you but will be compelled to take action against passengers violating our guidelines and safety protocols.

For passengers safety during their travel, the good news is that Beachcraft 1900'D' is equipped with a better filtration system that is capable of renewing the cabin volume with fresh air exclusively from the outside every 3 to 5 minutes. It helps to maintain the fresh air flow inside the aircraft and reduce the risk of transmission of viruses which eventually keeps the aircraft safe for travelers from COVID-19. However, our provided mask and face shield will definitely add more to travelers' safety and keep the flight much safer for air travel. A video has been posted for a referral from ATR's official website.