Pexco Aerospace’s ‘AirShield’ technology – which is designed to prevent airborne germs and odours entering passengers’ personal space – has entered the final stage of certification with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Pexco is working to certify AirShield for 737 and A320 aircraft.

The company has now been granted a project specific certification plan (PSCP) number and its engineering team will spend the next 30 days completing further on-wing testing of AirShield onboard A320 aircraft, with a view to receiving final certification in July 2022.

Having spent the past two years developing both the design and performance of its AirShield technology, Pexco has already completed extensive on-wing tests in collaboration with airlines including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

The data has informed the engineering development of AirShield and proven its efficacy in enhancing passenger wellbeing in the cabin, Pexco said. Working in harmony with existing HEPA filtration systems, AirShield is said to reduce shared air particles between neighbouring passengers in an economy cabin by 76 per cent . It also doubles the rate at which contaminated particles are expelled from the cabin and replaced by freshly purified air, Pexco said.

“Airlines recognise that privacy and hygiene are now equally important to the inflight experience as comfort and safety, especially on narrowbody aircraft where passengers are much closer together,” said Pexco Aerospace’s president Jon Page. “As an industry we cannot ignore that the world has changed, and cabin interiors need to evolve with passenger needs and desires. AirShield is part of the next generation of wellbeing technologies that are reshaping how we fly.”