Airlines can wipe out on-board risks for passengers with Virus Guard

An innovative new water based product that helps to protect air passengers and flight crew from being affected by harmful germs and potentially dangerous viruses is creating a lot of interest in the airline industry. Launched at Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, in April this year, Virus Guard by Bacoban is being marketed for use by commercial airlines to help them keep key areas clean and germ-free on board, including galleys, passenger tray tables, toilets, and anywhere else where passengers come into contact with surfaces.

International air travel has long been recognised as a way of facilitating the spread of dangerous pathogens, as the recent outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus demonstrated. This has raised concerns that the present cleaning procedures used by many airlines simply isn’t sufficient, meaning that viruses such as Ebola, Avian influenza, Mers, and many others can remain active. Some carriers also use air fresheners or air disinfectants which do no effect on surfaces.

Company spokesman for Virus Guard, Wim Savonije, said the problem was often due to airlines outsourcing cleaning of aircraft to the cheapest contractor, and the fact that staff were under intense pressure to meet quick turnaround times to avoid any flight delays. As a result, cleaning was often limited to vacuuming the floor, removing discarded items, and cleaning up obvious spillages.
“These and other factors mean there’s a greater risk of cross-contamination of surfaces such as passenger trays, touch screens, window surrounds, seatbelts – basically anything passengers touch. These areas aren’t being properly disinfected, but Virus Guard offers the perfect solution, ” said Mr Savonije.

Similar in design and application to wet wipes, Virus Guard comes in packs of 20 and 50, and is easy to use, by both passengers and crew members. Containing a powerful anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal ingredient, the wet wipes leave a ultra thin layer on surfaces when applied that remains effective for up to ten days. This protects against a wide range of viruses and kills both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, as well as vegetative cells and fungus.

Virus Guard wet wipes could also be issued to passengers to sanitise their own seats, armrests etc., and be used by cabin crew to wipe sensitive surfaces in the galley or toilets, during the flight itself. The product was well received at the Aircraft Interior Expo by airlines keen to provide better protection against the spread of pathogens, and improve crew and passenger hygiene. Patented technology of Virus Guard already has a number of global approvals in place and it has also been tested on Airbus and Boeing aircraft around the world.