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| Sunday, 4 May 2003 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Misconceptions about cabin air quality will hinder airline recovery -AAPA The public have still not got the message that the air in aircraft cabins is probably safer than anywhere else, Richard Stirland, Director General of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said in a statement. "The travelling public have become non-travellers due to the misconception that the chances of acquiring SARS is greater on an aircraft. This is principally as a result of lack of knowledge regarding air circulation in the cabin". "The air in the aircraft cabin is, on average, changed every three minutes. "Moreover, the air is a mix of fresh air drawn from outside the aircraft, and air that has passed through very efficient filters, which provide an environment that is as sanitised as a hospital operating theatre". "What is even less well known, but of equal or even greater importance, is that air supplied to aircraft toilets and galleys is not recirculated even in a filtered form, but is expelled from the aircraft". "Alao air vents are at the level of overhead stowage bins, extraction is at floor level. Air is thus drawn down, not up, and there is no longitudinal flow of air through the cabin". Stirland said that it is vital to get this message across to the public, and to government authorities. "Otherwise, airlines will be suffering from disastrous load factors long after the epidemic is over. Travel by air does not increase the risk of contracting this infection". The AAPA is a grouping of 17 scheduled international airlines based in the Asia Pacific region. The members are Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airlines, China Airlines, Dragonair, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Brunei Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways International and Vietnam Airlines. |
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