Cabin Disinfection at Nürnberg (EDDN)

What changes at Nürnberg?

Nuremberg sits at 1,044 feet elevation five kilometres north of the city centre, with a single 2,700‑metre runway serving scheduled, cargo and business-aviation traffic. The airport is licensed for round-the-clock operations—unusual among German fields—and the handling agent AirPart GmbH, which runs the General Aviation Terminal at Flughafenstr. 100, is staffed twenty-four hours a day. That means cabin disinfection can be scheduled at any hour, including overnight AOG recoveries or pre-dawn departures, without waiting for a desk to open.

Nuremberg is designated Level 2 'schedules facilitated' rather than fully slot-coordinated, so business aviation rarely faces hard slot constraints. The GAT desk is open Monday to Friday 06:00–21:30 CET and weekends 08:30–18:00, but because AirPart holds the airside concession and maintains a duty team around the clock, we coordinate directly with the handler to access your aircraft on the ramp whenever the turnaround window allows. Winter brings cold-soaked fuselages and the occasional need for de-icing; summer sees higher apron temperatures that accelerate cabin odour if ventilation has been off. Both seasons make a post-flight disinfection cycle more effective when timed immediately after engines-off, before the cabin environment has time to settle.

Which surfaces and systems do you treat during cabin disinfection?

We begin with every seat: leather or fabric cushions, armrests, recline controls, seat-belt buckles and anchor points. Next are the tables—fixed credenzas, fold-out units, cup-holder inserts—and every latch, switch bezel and touchscreen surround in reach of passengers or crew. Galley counters, drawer pulls, refrigerator handles and waste-bin lids receive the same attention, as do lavatory taps, flush buttons, door locks and grab rails.

Air-path components matter as much as hard surfaces. We wipe down every adjustable gasper nozzle and the visible grille of each overhead air vent, removing dust and biofilm that can harbour bacteria between flights. If the aircraft has been used for smoking—despite cabin rules—or has picked up persistent cooking, fuel or de-icing-fluid odour, we apply a separate neutralising treatment rather than masking the smell with fragrance. The final step is a light misting of high-touch zones with a fast-drying, aviation-approved disinfectant that leaves no residue on avionics panels or OEM-specified cabin materials.

You receive a certificate of treatment with the date, aircraft registration, surfaces covered and products used—helpful for charter-broker due diligence, passenger reassurance or your own SMS records.

How does cabin disinfection fit into a Nuremberg turnaround?

Most disinfection cycles run between one and two hours, depending on cabin configuration and whether odour neutralisation is needed. On a typical charter turnaround—passengers disembark, catering and lavatory service happen, fuel uplifts, new passengers board—we start as soon as the cabin is clear and the GPU is connected, so the work overlaps with ground handling rather than extending it. If you have a tight slot at the next airport or a PPR window to meet, let us know at booking; we'll stage the team on the apron before block-in so the wipe-down begins the moment the door opens.

For overnight stops the timing is more relaxed. Because AirPart operates around the clock and Nuremberg has no night curfew, we can disinfect after the last passenger deplanes in the evening and have the cabin ready—aired, dry, certificate printed—by the time the crew arrives for pre-flight in the morning. That approach works well for medevac operators who want a completely sterile environment before the next patient transfer, or for charter fleets running sequential legs where each client expects a visibly clean, odour-free cabin.

Why do operators request cabin disinfection after certain flight types?

Medical and repatriation flights are the most common trigger: bodily fluids, medical waste, pharmaceutical odours and the simple fact of transporting an ill passenger mean the cabin must be brought back to a baseline sanitary state before commercial use. Charter brokers and flight departments also order disinfection after long-haul legs—ten or twelve hours with a full passenger load generates surprising amounts of surface contamination, even in a well-maintained interior—and after any flight where smoking occurred, pets travelled, or catering spills were not immediately cleaned.

A less obvious reason is passenger perception. Corporate clients and UHNW travellers increasingly expect proof that the aircraft has been sanitised, not merely tidied. Handing the lead passenger or their assistant a dated certificate of treatment, countersigned by the handling agent, answers the question before it is asked and reinforces the professionalism of the operation. Some fleet managers now write cabin disinfection into their post-charter checklist as standard, knowing that the hour of labour costs far less than a reputation event if a subsequent passenger complains about cleanliness.

What products and methods do you use, and are they safe for avionics and OEM materials?

Every disinfectant and odour-neutraliser we apply is approved for use in pressurised aircraft cabins and compatible with the materials typical of business-aviation interiors: aniline and pigmented leathers, Alcantara, wool carpet, composite sidewalls, polycarbonate window surrounds and the powder-coated or anodised brightwork around galleys and lavatories. We avoid phenolic compounds, chlorine bleach and anything that leaves a conductive or corrosive residue near touchscreens, USB ports or the entertainment-system bezels.

The process is manual wipe-down rather than fogging or electrostatic spray, because a wipe physically removes soil and biofilm instead of merely coating it. We use low-lint microfibre cloths, changed frequently, and a two-bucket system—one for disinfectant solution, one for rinse water—to prevent cross-contamination between the lavatory and the galley. For odour neutralisation we apply an enzyme-based or activated-oxygen treatment that breaks down odour molecules rather than perfuming over them; the cabin smells neutral, not like a cleaning cupboard, by the time we finish.

Avionics bays, cockpit instrument panels and any placarded no-touch zones are left alone unless you specifically request cockpit disinfection and provide a tech-log entry authorising it. We photograph the completed work—wide shots of the cabin, close-ups of high-touch areas—and include the images with the certificate so you have a visual record for your SMS or broker file.

How do I arrange cabin disinfection at Nürnberg, and what lead time do you need?

Ideally we receive notice forty-eight hours before your scheduled arrival, along with aircraft type, registration, estimated block-in time and whether you also want an interior detail, dry wash or decon. That window lets us confirm airside-pass escort with AirPart, marshal the right disinfectants and cloths for your cabin materials, and position the team so we start the moment you request it. In practice many calls come twelve or twenty-four hours out, and we accommodate them; Nuremberg's twenty-four-hour handling and our local stock of consumables mean we can mobilise on shorter notice than at airports where the FBO closes overnight.

If the flight is AOG, medevac or otherwise urgent, telephone us as soon as you know you will divert to EDDN. We keep a duty mobile staffed during German business hours and forward to operations outside those hours. Provide the handler's name—almost certainly AirPart GmbH—your stand number if assigned, and a contact number for the captain or ground coordinator. We will confirm by email with a reference number, arrival instructions for our technician and a reminder that the GPU should remain connected until the cabin has aired and dried, usually fifteen to twenty minutes after we finish the wipe-down.