Unions suggest SARS precautions

Officials at the US' airlines said last week that the cleaning methods they had in place were already enough to rid an aircraft of a mystery respiratory illness, even if an infected passenger was found on board.

But airline unions are recommending that their members take even more stringent action to protect themselves against severe acute respiratory syndrome, known as SARS.

The issue is coming under scrutiny because of fears that SARS is being spread around the world by air travelers. Last week, the International Air Transport Association said that the SARS virus could cause greater damage to the airline industry than the war with Iraq.

The federal government requires aircraft to meet reasonable levels of physical and air cleanliness, but it does not set standards for how often planes must undergo thorough cleaning, leaving both the methods and the cleaning agents to the airlines.

Cleaning procedures vary among airlines, but in general the airlines simply pick up trash, wipe up lavatories and rearrange seat covers and seat belts during the day. At Southwest Airlines, which can turn a plane around in 20 to 25 minutes after landing, among the fastest in the industry, the cleanup duties during and between flights fall to flight attendants and pilots, said Ed Stewart, an airline spokesman.

"It really isn't rocket science. There's a lot of zest," Stewart said. Because Southwest's crews get paid by the trip, "the only way to get paid is to get the plane off the ground," Stewart said.

In 1998, the Department of Transportation adopted a series of recommendations by the International Air Transport Association for dealing with passengers found to be carrying infectious diseases. The standards, known as Recommended Practice 1798, are to be put in place as needed. Procedures include screening passengers at check-in gates for symptoms of the disease, distributing masks and gloves to airline personnel and passengers, and disinfecting aircraft on which SARS-infected passengers have traveled.

But a number of US carriers said they did not plan any special procedures to rid planes of SARS, beyond the regular cleanings.

United Airlines has not scheduled any additional cleaning because of the SARS virus, Joseph Hopkins, a United spokesman, said on Friday. United and Northwest Airlines are the two main US carriers serving Asia.

Barry Brown, director of corporate safety and the environment for Southwest, said he was not aware of special methods for disinfecting a plane on which an infected passenger had flown.

"Actually I think we would follow the normal cleaning procedures," Brown said on Friday. Brown said he thought "the antiseptics currently used on the planes are sufficient to kill the SARS bacteria" based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.