Airbus helps global passengers keep trust in air travel

Airbus understands that due to the global pandemic people around the world don’t know when they will be able to physically connect with their loved ones who are a plane ride away, while others are likely questioning whether flying could put their own health at risk.  

These questions are completely reasonable and Airbus anticipates passengers’ apprehension about flying again. This is why Airbus is asking itself what we can do right now to protect passengers’ health in the environment Airbus knows best: its own aircraft cabins. Airbus is taking its know-how in flight safety methods and creating a general awareness of what already exists in the company's products and makes them safe to fly. After all, Airbus' purpose of uniting, and safeguarding people across the world comes with great responsibility. 

Clean air has always been a priority in Airbus' cabin design. Besides the air exchange with the outside air for efficient contaminant removal, additional technologies are used to exclude distribution of biological pathogens in the cabin.  The air in Airbus aircraft cabins is a mix of fresh air drawn from outside and recirculated air that has passed through extremely efficient filters which remove particles in the air down to the size of microscopic bacteria and virus clusters.

These filters – called High-Efficiency-Particulate-Arrestors (HEPA) – have shown in tests to provide air that meets the standards set for hospital operating theaters by removing more than 99.9% of micro/nano particulate, viruses and bacteria. All of the air in Airbus cabins is completely renewed about every 2-3 minutes, which is a much higher rate of renewal than people experience in other indoor environments.

Additionally, safety in air travel is ensured by multiple layers, the accumulation and simultaneous implementation of these layers leads to the safety of the aircraft. These include: 

• Individual passenger precautions such as washing hands, wearing of masks, sneezing in elbows

• Decontamination of materials better between flights 

• Airport safety precautions such as scanning people’s temperature one hour before boarding 

This is a global industry-wide topic, not only linked to the aircraft air conditioning system, but also to the operation of the aircraft and airport. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) provides a wealth of information on the industry’s approach to this topic.

Written by:
David Zwegers
Regional Safety Director, Americas
david.zwegers@airbus.com