In a first-of-its-kind series of tests, Boeing and the University of Arizona have determined that airlines’ current cleaning solutions effectively destroy the virus that causes Covid-19.
Boeing completed the testing as part of its Confident Travel Initiative (CTI) to support customers and enhance the safety and well-being of passengers and crews during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Testing was conducted on an unoccupied Boeing airplane against a live virus called MS2 over the summer. The University of Arizona Department of Environmental Sciences correlated those results to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, in a protected laboratory environment.
“While these cleaning solutions had been tested in other environments, an airplane behaves differently. It was critical for us to evaluate and confirm the chemicals and techniques we recommend for our customers’ use are effective and battle tested,” said Mike Delaney, who leads Boeing's CTI efforts. “By working with the University of Arizona, we were able to employ their world-renowned expertise in virology to do exactly that.”
The bacteriophage virus MS2 is safe and harmless to humans and more difficult to kill than SARS-CoV-2. Scientific and industry studies have used the MS2 virus for many years, but never before in an airplane cabin. The University of Arizona provided the MS2 virus and analysed test results.
“This study allowed us to test and validate, for the first time, that disinfecting solutions kill SARS-CoV-2 on an airplane,” said University of Arizona microbiologist Dr Charles Gerba. “It’s important to recognise we’re not only talking about SARS-CoV-2, but also other viruses and microorganisms.”
