Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes; defense, space, and security systems; and global services. As the top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries and leverages the talents of a global supplier base. Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers, and invest in its people and future growth.

Recently, for example, Boeing and the University of Arizona put an age-old technique, thermal disinfection, to use in the fight against Covid-19. Researchers validated that applying heat to surfaces, especially on hard-to-clean flight deck equipment, effectively eliminates SARS-CoV-2. Results indicate that the virus can be destroyed by more than 99.99% after three hours of exposure to temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit and will still effectively kill more than 99.9% of the virus at 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

"Passenger and crew safety are our top priorities; that extends from the cabin to the flight deck," according to Michael Delaney, who leads Boeing's Confident Travel Initiative (CTI) efforts. "Thermal disinfection could deliver another valuable tool to destroy Covid-19 on sensitive and difficult-to-reach components that protect pilots."

Boeing completed the testing as part of its CTI effort to support customers and enhance the safety and well-being of passengers and crews during the Covid-19 pandemic. This testing was conducted in a protected laboratory environment at the university using flight deck parts and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, last fall.

"We're basically cooking the virus," according to Dr. Charles Gerba, University of Arizona microbiologist and infectious disease expert. "Thermal disinfection is one of the oldest ways to kill disease-causing micro-organisms. It's used by microbiologists in our laboratory every day."

The flight deck is one of the most challenging areas to sanitize using traditional chemical disinfectants. In areas with sensitive electronic equipment, heat has the ability to disinfect without adverse effects from cleaners. The flight deck is designed to withstand temperatures up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes thermal disinfection a safe, practical, and effective sanitization method.

Last summer, Boeing and the University of Arizona determined airlines’ current cleaning solutions effectively destroy the virus that causes Covid-19. Testing was conducted on an unoccupied Boeing airplane against a live virus called MS2. 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,” according to Delaney. “It was critical for us to evaluate and confirm the chemicals and techniques we recommend for our customers’ use are effective and battle-tested. 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, according to experts. 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 analyzed test results.

“This study allowed us to test and validate, for the first time, that disinfecting solutions kill SARS-CoV-2 on an airplane,” according to Dr. Gerba. “It’s important to recognize we’re not only talking about SARS-CoV-2 but also other viruses and microorganisms.”

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