Lufthansa Technik has developed a dishwasher that allows cabin crew to wash dishes inflight.
The new ‘Dishwashair’ gives airlines the
option of washing small amounts of dishes mid-flight and reusing them,
rather than stockpiling dirty dishes and cutlery.
Lufthansa Technik said the unit can complete a wash in just six minutes with three litres of water.
The Dishwashair can be installed and
connected in standard aircraft galleys, and baskets that fit in any
standardised galley can be used for placement of dishes and silverware.
And, the machine can easily be attached to the available on board
connections for fresh and waste water or vacuum systems.
A single fill-up of the two required
cleaning agents is enough for up to 40 wash cycles. The unit, which
features “complex safety mechanisms”, is now in series production and
can wash a load of dishes in only.
“Long-haul aircraft in particular take
along lots of dishware, amounts that can be reduced considerably with
clever logistics,” said Oliver Thomaschewski, Lufthansa Technik’s head
of “seating and structures” in the original equipment innovation product
division.
“No normal household would keep a
separate set of dishes for every meal. Now our Dishwashair makes it
possible, even in an aircraft, to bring along only the amounts actually
needed to provide service.”
