May_2021 - 14

COVER STORY

Airport (SFO), William P. Hobby Airport
(HOU), George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Newark Liberty International
Airport (EWR) and Ernesto Cortissoz
International Airport (BAQ) in Colombia
actively using them with approximately 20
more units in production.
For these efforts, PrimeFlight Aviation
Services has been named the Ground Support Worldwide 2021 Product Leader of
the Year.

UV-C's Place in Aviation
The first version of the PrimeFlightUV
surface disinfection units launched was
designed for wheelchair disinfection. However, PrimeFlight has several other units in
various design phases.
" These additional units are aimed to disinfect security bins, luggage, galley carts,
aircraft interiors and more, " Bosserman
explains.
Earlier this year, the Transport Security Administration (TSA) began testing the
company's security bin/luggage disinfection system at DCA.
" We have additional designs in research
and development, " Bosserman adds. " We
are prepared to meet the unique needs of
our industry and customers. "
The UV-C technology incorporated
into PrimeFlightUV leverages ultraviolet light disinfection technology that has
been used in medical facilities, water
treatment facilities and the food and beverage industry for some time, according
to Bosserman.

UV-C light destroys the outer protein coating of viruses, including the SARS-CoV-2
virus, effectively inactivating the virus.
" Because this proven technology is at the
foundation of our designs, our mission was
to ensure we were housing these bulbs in
a way that targeted the items or areas to
be disinfected and that we are controlling
the output of the lamps while minimizing
potential for UV-C leakage, " he says. " We
conducted extensive testing to ensure our
units were effective in disinfecting various test items, and we continue to make
adjustments to our designs to get the most
trusted result possible. "
Bosserman says to ensure the virus is
properly inactivated, company engineers
targeted UV-C light, and adjusted the wattage and treatment time to ensure the units
meet or exceed disinfection thresholds.
PrimeFlightUV units offer an enclosed
design, complete with UV-C shielding,

emergency stop features, deadman controls
and secured power switches. Bosserman
says these features are important to aviation customers.
" All of our designs feature UV shields to
ensure that they are not only safe for operators, but also onlookers and passengers, "
he points out. " This is a key safety feature
with the need to have our PrimeFlightUV
units placed in high traffic areas. "
The UV-C bulbs housed in the units
are built to last for 10,000 hours and are
easily replaced.
Bosserman says it is a point of pride for the
company to have designed UV-C disinfection
solutions specifically for the industry.
" Our designs are tailored to the aviation
industry and are aimed at making the public feel safe while traveling, " Bosserman
says. " Since PrimeFlight employees, in
many cases, would be among those operating these products, we have a unique
understanding of the limitations we need
to work around, how treatment times can
affect operations and more. "

Manufacturing Efforts

Portable wheelchair disinfection units are in use at several airports, and the
TSA is currently testing PrimeFlight's security bin disinfection units at DCA.

14 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE

MAY 2021

Both the PrimeFlight Aviation Services and
ProFlo Industries teams have extensive experience in the industry, being established for
more than 40 and 20 years, respectively.
PrimeFlight's acquisition of ProFlo in
March of 2020 allowed the industry veterans
to work together on a solution to the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
May_2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May_2021
