Terminal operations
For however long societies across the world have to contend with Covid-19, there will be other pandemics in the future, and so flexibility and a willingness to embrace new technologies will remain pivotal for airports.
Helsinki Airport has been using both mechanical and UVC escalator handrail cleaning since mid-2020 to combat the spread of Covid-19.
loosen, though the fear of mutant variants and the threat they pose mean that the industry can’t afford to get complacent.
Beyond Covid-19, though, there are many other reasons why airports might want to reflect on their cleaning measures, and look to embrace and implement new technologies as and when they become available.
99.99%
Of pathogens can be eliminated by using UVC technology to decontaminate airport spaces. Applied Sciences
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“In addition to passenger safety, the well-being, health and safety of airport employees are also important drivers,” says Kiiskinen. “In addition to coronaviruses, there are several other familiar microbes that cause many kinds of nuisance in societies. New technologies help us to reduce the impacts of these normal and less severe [pandemics] too. Also, general passenger satisfaction and confidence is naturally very important to us as an airport operator.”
His note about other epidemics is notable – in the years before Covid-19, the air travel industry and, indeed, society as a whole had a number of warning shots fired in the form of coronaviruses like SARS and MERS, and also Ebola. All three viruses resulted in severe pandemics that spread across multiple countries, but it wasn’t until Covid-19 that the 21st century witnessed a truly global pandemic.
Increased safety and confidence Of the advantages offered by the new technologies Helsinki Airport has implemented into its operations, perhaps the most important is the “24/7 effect”, according to Kiiskinen. In other words, the nanocoatings and UVC disinfection equipment are constantly at work neutralising microbes, without the gaps between cleaning times characteristic of manual cleaning. “Traditional cleaning is not able to wipe every surface every hour,” Kiiskinen explains, “so the technology is here to fill the gaps and hence improve overall safety.” This leaves less opportunity for viruses and bacteria to gather on a surface, and thereby come into contact with staff or passengers – an obvious benefit for any industry with high footfall, where new microbes could be introduced far faster than any manual cleaning could prevent. With the implementation of these new technologies, Helsinki Airport has made a lot of ground in reducing risk to its passengers and employees, but also in helping to increase confidence in air travel through its doors and in the safety it can provide. One of the main challenges facing the air travel industry is the blow that Covid-19 has provided to passenger confidence, and one that it will have to continually weather as new strains and fears emerge. UVC light and the other cleaning technologies Helsinki has embraced provide a double benefit, then – not just tackling the issue itself, but also easing people’s fears around it. “Even though we can’t have exact figures of the effects of these measures on passenger’s and staff member’s health, we see that the measures increase the overall comfort and confidence in using our facilities,” Kiiskinen says, with confidence. “For staff, the result is a more pleasant and safe working environment.”
While Helsinki Airport is the main location where Finavia has been focusing on integrating UVC technology, security control tray UVC disinfection is also in use at the Oulu and Rovaniemi airports. As with Helsinki, both airports have expressed satisfaction and confidence in how the technology has enhanced their cleaning services and helped to minimise the risk of infection for passengers and staff. Technologies like UVC will help airports and other travel industries to mitigate the spread of viruses and bacteria on their sites. And with Covid-19 firmly intrenched in our lives for the foreseeable future, and the possibility of future pandemics an ever- present threat on the horizon, airport operators would do well to keep this in mind. ●
Future Airport /
www.futureairport.com
Finavia
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