On each flight, there are passengers that are always eager to get up and make their way for the exit after the plane arrives at the gate and the seatbelt sign is turned off. However, amid the pandemic, airlines have a responsibility to avoid this rush. Therefore, Airbus is assisting operators with safe disembarking with the use of lighting.
Keeping order
Lighting has been put into great effect across the board since the rise of the global health crisis, with ultraviolet rays being deployed by many airlines to kill germs on their aircraft. However, lighting is also proving useful with other factors when it comes to the challenges of the pandemic.
Passengers don’t always pick up on verbal cues from flight attendants. So, to assist staff and avoid discomfort while maintaining social distancing, Airbus’ traffic light approach uses cabin illumination to indicate the rows that are designated to disembark.
“We’ve looked at how we can use lighting to ensure better onboarding and deboarding of passengers. Because that’s where social distancing is, of course, the most difficult to control as people are packed in the aisles,” Airbus EVP, Head of Region & Sales Europe Wouter Van Wersch shared in a presentation at MAKS-2021 last week.
“We’ve developed a certain lighting pattern that has now been applied on our A350s in line fit, and it’s also being completed for retrofits. We have assigned different colors. It’s sort of a traffic light. We’re using lighting to give clear indications to our passengers on what they should do in the disembarking of an aircraft. Of course, embarking is also very important, and we work very closely with airlines and airports on defining the right sequence of onboarding of passengers.”
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Lighting the way
Customizable illumination combines with verbal cues from flight attendants to guide passengers on board. Altogether, a single color or a combination of colors at a time can be spaced out in a specific manner and direction, either front to back or back to front.
Moreover, the patterns can be modified for each carrier. The airlines can adapt the colors to what works best for their operation.
The goal is to indicate which passengers are chosen to alight next, row by row. Ultimately, Airbus is keen to help airlines enable orderly and safe disembarking from the aircraft.
Keeping proactive
Overall, Airbus is determined to highlight that the aircraft is a safe environment. If the right measures and precautions are taken, airlines can continue to conduct their operations efficiently.
Cabin innovations can prove to be valuable in the current climate. These lighting techniques combine well with other placements such as HEPA air filters to reduce the risk of transmission on board an aircraft. Altogether, airlines, passengers, and authorities need to keep working together to ensure that services can continue to run smoothly and safely.
What are your thoughts about the way Airbus is using lighting to help passengers social distance? What do you make of the initiatives in place throughout the aircraft? Let us know what you think in the comment section.