Assessment of ultrafine particles on aircraft cabin at different phases of flight

Indoor air quality contributes to one’s comfort, wellbeing and work productivity depending on whether it is contaminated or not. Aircraft cabin environment is a type of indoor environment, which is different in terms of its need for pressurization, high occupant density and movement restriction thereby posing danger to both passengers and crew. The present study was aimed at studying the cabin air quality by ascertaining ultrafine particles on aircraft cabin at different phases of flight. Air samples were collected from 100 flights of 5 different aircraft types (B757 cargo, BAe 146, BAe 757, Airbus 319 and Airbus 320) at the 10 different phases of flights from engine start to landing and taxi-in. Mean, median and quartile values of ultrafine particle concentrations were calculated for the 10 phases of flight for individual aircraft types. The result revealed that, phases of flight where the aircraft were on ground had the higher mean values for all aircraft than other flight phases when the aircraft is in air thereby suggesting different particle sources for ground and air. Also Boeing 757 passenger aircraft recorded the highest particle concentration compared to the other 4 aircraft types. This also occurred while aircraft were on the ground, prior to the engines being started. Ultrafine particle concentration in both ground and air phases seem to be comparable with those in other indoor environments, suggesting fewer particle sources within the cabin itself and also effectiveness of the aircraft air conditioning system in removing or minimizing ultrafine particles.