UP F RONT
“I am convinced that
Airbus and the
broader aerospace
sector will overcome
this critical period”
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
012 JUNE 2020
Guillaume Faury,
CEO of Airbus
1.HEPA FILTERS,
AS FITTED TO
THE A220, ARE
BECOMING A
KEY MARKETING
MESSAGE FOR
BOOSTING TRAVEL
CONFIDENCE
CABIN
CONFIDENCE
Collaboration between aviation industry
stakeholders is key to boosting
passenger confidence as air travel
prepares for recovery. Airbus’s Daniel
Werdung explains to Tomás Romero
why the technology and engineering
that make the cabin a safe environment
are a key message for the flying public
Until a proven effective treatment or vaccine for Covid-
19 is developed, a coordinated effort by all aviation
industry stakeholders is key to maintaining passenger
safety and growing passenger confidence. With this
in mind, Airbus has launched an initiative named
‘Keep Trust in Air Travel’, and as Daniel Werdung,
a spokesperson for the company notes, “We think
that airports, airlines, aircraft manufacturers, suppliers
and authorities need to drive this end-to-end
approach together.”
In terms of flight safety, security and sanitary safety,
Werdung says that an airplane cabin is actually one
of the safest enclosed places in the world, being a
“controlled, closed environment”. He says that the air
filters of Airbus aircraft remove 99.95-99.97% of
particles, microbes and bacteria from the cabin air.
“As a result the air in the cabin is very clean and
hospital-like,” says Werdung, adding that the cabin air
is often cleaner upon landing than it was when the doors
were closed for take-off.
Another element of inflight hygiene that is likely to
reassure anxious passengers moving forward, notes
Werdung, is the direction of the cabin airflow itself.
“At the seat, air is constantly moving downwards,
flowing in from above and then sucked out through the
floor,” he explains. “From there it is transported to highly
efficient HEPA filters, then re-injected back into the
cabin, with no airflow left-to-right or front-to-back,
so there is no cross-contamination.”
1
And while some passengers are expecting social distancing in the
cabin for the near future, and stricter cleaning regimes for the longer
term – before, during and after all flights – Werdung says that keeping
the middle seat empty is “one of the measures too many”, particularly
in light of the limited potential for onboard transmissions due to the
downward flow of air in the cabin.
IATA’s findings in May that eliminating the middle seat could drive
a 43-54% increase in airline ticket prices don’t make this solution
encouraging either.
Werdung adds that Airbus is investigating the recent proposals
of installing plexiglass separators between seats as a cabin hygiene
solution. The engineering teams are studying the practicality of
partitions in terms of weight and egress.
And while long-term cabin redesign solutions are still in flux,
Werdung says that in the short-term, Airbus’s ‘Keep Trust in Air Travel’
initiative is focusing on updating in-cabin operational procedures
across the board.
The initiative suggests procedural changes including everything from
turning on the ventilation systems before passengers board – not just
during TTL – to cleaning passenger’s carry-on luggage before boarding,
adapting/reorganising the overhead bins, and even ”forcing passengers
to store luggage under their seats or in the cargo hold,” as Werdung
explains. He adds that rethinking the way the industry looks at the
aircraft environment as a whole will be key in terms of ensuring
passenger and employee safety and well-being in the future.
“We’re helping provide guidance to authorities and it is all about
finding the smartest way forward,” says Werdung. “This is an industrywide
issue and we are trying to play a role in connecting people in all
countries. We see it as our duty, our role, to make us fly again!”
Visit aircraftinteriorsinternational.com for the latest cabin safety news updates
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com