Embraer has released a Service Bulletin that allows ERJ 145 operators to install high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters.

The manufacturer, which recently announced an electric aircraft research partnership with EDP, says the main goal of this development is to support customers of the 50-seat ERJ 145 jet in their search for solutions to increase passenger safety and prevent potential transmission of viruses onboard.

According to Embraer, the kits for the first 70 aircraft are already being assembled and should be delivered by mid-December.

Johann Bordais, president and CEO of Embraer Services & Support commented: “At Embraer, we are always focused on our customer, on how to better support them and how to further improve our products. Given the moment we are living, developing a HEPA filter service bulletin for the ERJ 145 is a must-have solution Embraer developed to make cabin conditions even safer for passengers.”

The development of the solution took around five and a half months and during this time, Embraer selected the filter and worked through the necessary steps to create the service bulletin, manufacturing and purchasing several of the required parts to develop the kits.

In most aircraft, the air in the cabin is completely refreshed between 20 and 30 times per hour, which is significantly more often than in an office environment and even five to six times more often than in a hospital environment. HEPA filters, which are standard on all versions of the Embraer E-Jets and E-Jets E2 families of commercial aircraft, are extremely efficient, capturing 99.97 per cent of airborne particles and other biological contaminants such as bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Earlier this year, Embraer also approved the use of MicroShield360, a preventive coating system that, when applied to aircraft cabin surfaces, continuously inhibits the growth of microbes. The aircraft manufacturer says that combining these new features with the existing cabin environment technologies equates to a higher level of protection for passengers.

This technology is also available on Embraer Executive Jets, with the HEPA filter now standard on both the Praetor 500 and Praetor 600, and Embraer is expecting to complete the same initiative for the ERJ 135 and ERJ 140 very soon.