Airplane filter to stop spread of swine flu

Two British companies have joined forces in developing a new and improved air filter for airlines which could see viruses like swine flu and more common colds being extracted from planes so people do not contract these illnesses. BAE System and Quest International say they have been working on the machine that will destroy 99.9 per cent of infections and pollutants especially those ones that are found on long haul flights.

The AirManager will use an electric field filter to cut out any germs that pass into the airplane’s air-conditioning unit and will just send back clean sterilised air. The two firms have been working on the project for four years and have been carrying out test just recently. BAE have said that a one major airline has already made an order for the equipment and they are also thinking about rolling it out into hospitals to control the spread of superbugs.

Because of the current need for passengers to breathe pressurised air, the air is taken from the engines and then re-circulated around the plane, which gives bugs and viruses plenty of time to infect passengers onboard the planes, especially long haul. The founder of Quest, David Hallam, said he intended the original machine for nursing homes to get rid of odours, but found it also took bacteria away with them.