The UK’s first UV treatment of security trays has been installed at Gatwick to protect passengers and staff by reducing the spread of coronaviruses.
Laboratory tests demonstrate 99.9% disinfection rate with every tray treated immediately before each passenger uses it. The system – provided by Smiths Detection – sees each tray pass through a covered ‘UV-tunnel’ fixed underneath the exiting hand luggage screening system.
Gatwick is the first airport in the UK to treat its security trays with enough UV light energy to guarantee a 99.9% microbe disinfection rate – protecting passengers and staff and reducing the spread of coronaviruses, including Covid-19, and other infections on this high-touch surface area.
Following a one-month trial on a single security lane in July, with laboratory testing demonstrating a 99.9% microbe disinfection rate, the new system will be rolled out on eight lanes in Gatwick’s North Terminal – six for passengers and two for staff – by the end of this month.
The system uses short-wavelength UV-C light, which laboratory tests show is effective against coronaviruses, including Covid-19 and SARS, as the radiation warps the structure of their genetic material and prevents the viral particles from replicating.
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