On Nov. 25th, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) issued new guidelines for its airline industry, which it supervises.
The Sixth Edition of Technical Guidelines for Epidemic Prevention and Control for Airlines includes advice on the best hygiene practices for aircraft and airports.
One of those recommendations recently raised some eyebrows—workers such as flight attendants must wear disposable diapers, so they don’t need to use the restroom.
A segment on PPE advises cabin crew to wear “medical masks, double-layer disposable medical gloves, goggles, disposable hats, disposable protective clothing, and disposable shoe covers” on flights to and from high-risk countries.
The next sentence reads: “It is recommended that cabin crew members wear disposable diapers and avoid using the lavatories barring special circumstances to avoid infection risks.”
Even though these recommendations may seem dramatic, people know that restrooms can be the germiest place on an airplane. In August, a woman traveling from Italy to South Korea contracted coronavirus during her trip. A visit to the bathroom — the only place where she didn’t wear an N95 mask — was named the possible source of her infection.
Before Covid-19, airplane bathroom designs were already a hot topic, but the pandemic has forced efforts to develop new solutions. Japanese airline ANA announced earlier this year that it tested out a prototype of a new hands-free lavatory door.
Meanwhile, Boeing successfully applied for a patent on a “self-cleaning lavatory” that would use UV light to clean 99.9% of bathroom germs after every use.
