ANA adding steps to aircraft cleaning and hygiene
A diagram of the air filtration system on ANA aircraft
ANA Holdings Inc. plans additional measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 including stepped up cleaning at airports, facial coverings and disinfecting.
“While ANA Group has already been taking appropriate precautions to fight the spread of the virus and make aircrafts safe, ANA Group will continue to elevate their efforts by implementing various fundamental standards and safety precautions,” said a release from the airline
“We want to reassure our customers and employees that ANA is taking every precaution to provide a clean, safe and comfortable travel experience,” said Yuji Hirako, President and CEO of ANA. “As new industry, government or airport specific cleaning and sanitization policies are considered, we will continue to evaluate implementing them.”
ANA Group’s Standards and Approach:
- Maintain a clean environment at airports, in aircraft cabins, lounges and all locations.
- ANA Group employees will wear a facial covering at every touch point with passengers.
- All aircraft operated by ANA Group will be disinfected on a regular and frequent basis. Aircraft used for international flights will be sanitized after every flight, and daily at night on aircraft flown domestically.
All aircraft used by ANA pass clean air through ventilation systems. The aircraft absorbs a large amount of clean air while in flight, which allows for the cabin’s entire air to be replaced in approximately three minutes. The cabin air is filtered and circulated through a high-performance filter, ensuring high-quality, clean air. The same filter is used in the air conditioning system of the operating rooms of hospitals.The cabin air is constantly flowing, from the ceiling to the floor. The air in the cabin does not stay stagnant.
Aircraft have the normal ventilation rates as listed in their design standards, and approximately 200 liters (1 drum) of air is ventilated per minute per passenger for each passenger.
Each cabin is equipped with a circulation system that purifies air by passing it through a HEPA filter. It is considered to be one of the most robust air filtration systems and is recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for its effectiveness at air purification.
The HEPA filter captures fine particles as small as 0.3 microns (μm) and filter out at least 99.97% of the contaminants in the air. It is a fairly active air cleaner and can be used as a countermeasure against airborne infectious diseases such as SARS and COVID-19. According to the manufacturer, this filter can also absorb coronavirus droplets in the air.
