WATCH: JetBlue Deploys Honeywell’s Ultraviolet Cleaning System

JetBlue Airways has partnered with Honeywell to put the company’s new UV Cabin System into service as part of a pilot program by the airline.

In clinical studies, ultraviolet light has been found to be capable of significantly reducing certain viruses and bacteria when properly applied at prescribed levels. The Honeywell UV Cabin System can traverse an aircraft cabin in less than 10 minutes, and JetBlue will be gauging the system’s place in its operation while continuing other cleaning methods.

“With the safety of our crewmembers and customers our first priority, JetBlue’s Safety from the Ground Up initiative is maintaining a layered approach to safety by ensuring healthy crewmembers, providing flexibility, adding space, reducing touchpoints, and keeping surfaces clean and sanitized,” Joanna Geraghty, JetBlue’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “As we look to add additional layers of protection by utilizing cutting-edge technology, we have identified the Honeywell UV Cabin System as a potential game-changer when it comes to efficiently assisting in our efforts to sanitize surfaces onboard.”

Honeywell has already delivered eight of the devices to JetBlue, and the devices are now being put into service as part of JetBlue’s Safety from the Ground Up program at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. These two locations kicked off a 90-day pilot program for JetBlue to evaluate the Honeywell solution.

“JetBlue took an immediate interest in this new product when we demonstrated it for them just a few weeks ago, and now JetBlue is receiving our first systems,” said Mike Madsen, Honeywell Aerospace president and CEO. “We’ve ramped up production quickly on the UV Cabin System, and our company is working on a range of solutions to help make passengers more comfortable about flying.”