Pre-flight Pesticide Treatment Offered to Combat Zika Virus

Italy is the latest country to require aircraft to be treated with pesticide to guard against the spread of insect-borne diseases such as the Zika virus. With other countries likely to introduce similar requirements, UK-based aircraft detailing company Up & Away Aviation has introduced a service that treats private jet cabins with an approved pesticide before departure, to avoid the need for spraying on arrival.

In a process approved by the World Health Organization, Up & Away uses a nebulizer to apply the pesticide so that a residual film is left in the cabin providing protection for up to eight weeks. The aircraft has to be left vacant for four hours before departure, but this approach means that the aircraft does not have to be sprayed on arrival before the passengers disembark. Local officials do swab cabin surfaces on arrival to quickly check that the residual pesticide amounts to at least 0.2 grams per square meter.

Australia and New Zealand have long required arriving aircraft to be sprayed with an anti-insect treatment, and many South American countries now require this, too. Other European Union states are expected to follow suit and countries such as China and Russia are introducing new requirements.