"Shedding Old Grime and Ready to Welcome Guests"... Korean Air Aircraft Cleaning Event Held

Korean Air is making thorough preparations for customers to travel abroad again after emerging from the dark tunnel of COVID-19. On the 18th, officials were cleaning the Boeing 747-8i aircraft in the Korean Air maintenance hangar in Unseo-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon, welcoming the spring season. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Korean Air announced on the 18th that it conducted an aircraft washing event at its maintenance hangar located at Incheon International Airport.

Korean Air regularly carries out aircraft washing operations as part of its ESG management, which emphasizes ESG (Environmental, Social Responsibility, and Governance) values, as well as to improve customer service satisfaction. In particular, this event was held with the intention of providing customers who are resuming air travel with a cleaner aircraft for a more comfortable and refreshing experience.

The aircraft that was refreshed by removing accumulated grime on this day was a Boeing 747-8i deployed on long-haul routes, with dust and foreign substances thoroughly removed not only from the fuselage and wings but also from every corner inside the engines.

Aircraft washing involves the use of special equipment capable of spraying water, cleaning agents, or steam, and is conducted separately for the fuselage, landing gear, wings, and engine areas according to their respective characteristics.

The aircraft fuselage is first sprayed with water to remove dust adhering to the surface, then workers meticulously wipe off dust and contaminants accumulated on the exterior using cleaning agents and tools, followed by spraying water again to remove any remaining contaminants and cleaning agents. For the engines, high-pressure water is sprayed inside to remove accumulated dust, and washing and drying are repeated several times.

External cleaning of the aircraft, including the fuselage, involves one vehicle-mounted high-altitude work platform that rises up to 26 meters, three medium-to-large lift cars, and three water tank trucks.

The water used for washing is fully collected and safely treated at designated locations to prevent environmental pollution. Washing the engines of the Boeing 747-8i lowers exhaust gas temperature by 2°C and improves fuel efficiency, resulting in an annual reduction of approximately 190 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

A Korean Air official stated, “We plan to provide the best service with clean aircraft to customers embarking on overseas travel with a fresh mindset after shedding the accumulated grime of COVID-19, while also taking the lead in reducing carbon emissions.”

Korean Air is making efforts to restore its pre-COVID-19 status as daily life gradually returns to normal and air travel demand steadily recovers.

To this end, Korean Air plans to smoothly supply airline seats to meet demand recovery in line with the government’s plan to increase international routes, while gradually normalizing routes that were suspended after COVID-19. Additionally, it will recheck safe flight readiness and work to restore airport and in-flight services to their pre-COVID-19 conditions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.