With the outbreak of COVID-19, the near future may see the Bandaranayake International Airport re-opening it services to arriving passengers. With this in mind the SLAF was tasked with the development of a disinfection system which could be used for all passengers arriving by air.

On the instructions of the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Sumangala Dias and under the supervision of the Director General Engineering, the Aeronautical Engineering Support Wing at SLAF Base Ratmalana developed, fabricated and installed a “Passenger Disinfection Chamber” at the Arrivals Terminal of the Bandaranayake International Airport.

This new “Passenger Disinfection Chamber” was officially commissioned by the Chairman of the Airport & Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd, Major General (Retd.) G. A. Chandrasiri Yesterday (27 April 2020). The Commanding Officer of SLAF Station BIA, Air Commodore Janaka Amarasinghe attended for the event.

This newly developed Passenger Disinfection Chamber developed by the Engineering Team from the Aeronautical Engineering Support Wing led by Group Captain S Witharana comprises of three main sections. The first section aims at disinfecting the upper back and head area. The second section targets the mid body section above the knee while the final section targets the lower body, legs and feet.

In addition to spraying disinfecting liquid the spraying system consisting of specially designed nozzles atomizes the air and disinfectant liquid thereby creating a thick mist within the tunnel which is intended to penetrate clothing in such a way that will ensure that any contaminants within cloths will also be cleaned. Further, all contaminated liquid from the tunnel is collected in a separate tank which will be properly disposed by SLAF CBRNE Personnel.

The Airport & Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., has requested more of this Chambers to be installed at other available arrival and departure terminals of the Bandaranayake International Airport.