ORLY (France) – As summer travel heats up, airlines are dusting off planes that were grounded during the pandemic and inspecting them for fungus, bugs, and bird nests before resuming service. An Air France plane that had been sitting outside for a year at Orly Airport was towed to a huge hangar in Paris this week, where technicians rapidly removed the tarpaulins.
During the epidemic, Air France, like most airlines, took the vast majority of its jets out of service as travel restrictions reduced traffic to a trickle.
At the height of the crisis, up to 80% of the fleet was parked.
As the summer season begins in Europe and coronavirus-weary travelers seek solace in warm Mediterranean destinations, the Airbus A321 at the Orly hangar will soon have to make up to seven flights each day.
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Although the jets that were grounded had routine maintenance, it will take time to get the Airbus fit to fly more than 200 passengers per flight again.
“We have to retest and recheck a whole lot of systems that were shut down and haven’t been in operation for a long time,” said Vincent Rigaudie, one of the individuals in charge of preparing Air France planes for flight at Orly.
“We need to check the hydraulic oil levels, and we need to check all of the engine systems,” he continued.
On April 2, 2021, an Air France Airbus A350 airliner lands at the Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Roissy, France, near Paris. (Photo: Christian Hartmann/REUTERS)
The plane is then given a test flight to confirm that all systems are working properly before being cleared to return to commercial operation.
Teams of technicians work in shifts in a hangar the size of several football fields to guarantee Air France planes are fit to fly.
COVID-19 caused thousands of planes to be grounded. What happens to them is as follows: But, as Rigaudie said over the sound of shrieking loudspeakers meant to scare away pigeons, the planes’ long sleep has generated its own set of issues that specialists must deal with. The birds love to build their nests on parked planes, especially on the wings near the ailerons, and their droppings are extremely corrosive. “They don’t require a lot of space to get inside,” Rigaudie explained. FUNGUS AND BUGS Other potential issues include: Fungus and insects contaminating petrol tanks and obstructing air speed sensors. The tarps that protect the plane provide their own set of problems, as dampness can accumulate beneath them. Near the Airbus’ fan blades, moisture-absorbing bags were installed. “These are to trap moisture that can stay within the motor for the entire time it is parked,” Julien Breuzard, a technician, explained. More corrosion than usual can be predicted depending on where a plane is stored, such as in a hot and humid city with pollutants. READ: Some Southeast Asian airlines face a rocky road to recovery following the epidemic A parked Airbus A320 family model aircraft at Orly requires between 200 and 300 hours of work to get it ready to fly again. It all starts with a visual assessment, which may include the use of a micro-camera fitted on a long flexible tube to reach locations that are otherwise inaccessible. A computer system aboard the Airbus detects faults. A drone is used to inspect high-altitude locations. The equipment is then tested and, if necessary, repaired or replaced. Before the plane can take passengers again, the batteries must be reconnected, and the inside and exterior surfaces must be cleaned./n
