title: Disinfection of aircraft : Appropriate disinfectants and standard operating procedures for highly infectious diseases.
abstract: For infectious diseases caused by highly pathogenic agents (e. g., Ebola/Lassa fever virus, SARS-/MERS-CoV, pandemic influenza virus) which have the potential to spread over several continents within only a few days, international Health Protection Authorities have taken appropriate measures to limit the consequences of a possible spread. A crucial point in this context is the disinfection of an aircraft that had a passenger on board who is suspected of being infected with one of the mentioned diseases. Although, basic advice on hygiene and sanitation on board an aircraft is given by the World Health Organization, these guidelines lack details on available and effective substances as well as standardized operating procedures (SOP). The purpose of this paper is to give guidance on the choice of substances that were tested by a laboratory of Lufthansa Technik and found compatible with aircraft components, as well as to describe procedures which ensure a safe and efficient disinfection of civil aircrafts. This guidance and the additional SOPs are made public and are available as mentioned in this paper.
authors: Occupational Safety Flight Operations, Department FRA PX/O, Lufthansa Basis - Tor 21, Lufthansa German Airlines, 60546, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Joachim.Klaus@dlh.de.
authors: Joachim
authors: J
authors: Klaus
authors: Lufthansa Technik AG, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Gnirs
authors: Lufthansa Technik AG, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors: Sabine
authors: S
authors: Hölterhoff
authors: Hesse Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration, Wiesbaden, Germany.
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Wirtz
authors: Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, Berlin, Germany.
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Jeglitza
authors: Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors: Walter
authors: W
authors: Gaber
authors: Health Protection Authority and Competence Network for Highly Pathogenic Agents, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors: Rene
authors: R
authors: Gottschalk
mesh_terms: D000401:Aircraft / Q000592:standards*; D000465:Algorithms; D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000592:standards*; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000592:standards*; D004203:Disinfection / Q000592:standards*; D004866:Equipment Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene / Q000592:standards; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017751:Safety Management / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D004202:Disinfectants
keywords: Air traffic; Disinfection of aircraft; Highly infectious diseases; Standardized operating procedures; Substances for disinfection