Page 102 - Mariners Cricket Club (Singapore) - Souvenir Magazine 2020

Converting passenger seats into cargo
measuring airspeed — because nest debris
from an insect was stuck inside.
So even “the littlest things”, such as small
sensors, must be taken care of and covered.
“We need to always ensure that these covers
are in place and...not blown away by the wind,”
said Quizon. “We have programmes in place to
have them inspected on a daily basis.”
There are also numerous other little tasks to be
done, such as closing the thousands of window
shades on all the planes. This, said Li, blocks
sunlight and UV rays, preventing damage to
the interior furnishings.
Most SIA planes, he added, have window
shades that can be pulled down easily. But the
787 Dreamliner planes used by its subsidiary
Scoot uses dimmable windows instead, which
work only when the plane is powered up.
“We actually apply black plastic sheets to
cover the windows because they don’t have
the manual window shades,” said Li. “In this
unprecedented situation, we had to be creative
and think on our feet to find solutions to these
problems.”
The tasks may be simple but also time-
consuming. For example, seat checks are done
every month, informed Li. It includes checking
every seat’s recline, leg rest, footrest, meal table
and the overhead reading lights.
“These are really small things that might seem
insignificant, but they’re really important
because if you find problems early enough, you
can fix them,” he said.
Checking just one plane with 300 seats could
take around five hours to complete.
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Mariners’ Cricket Club (Singapore)
Mariners ’ Crick et Club (Singapor e ) 102
zones not easy
With several planes grounded, airlines like SIA
transformed some passenger planes to carry
cargo instead, which Ngai described as a “good
way for them to bring in some revenue and
deploy planes that are otherwise idle”.
To make this transformation happen and carry
goods, not just in the cargo hold, a lot of work
is required.
For instance, bubble wrap is placed on
passenger seats to protect them, before a plastic
covering is applied.
“Just like a passenger needs to have his seatbelt
fastened...we also want the cargo to be fastened
at all times, so we use ropes to strap them in,”
Li said.
SIA also protects inflight entertainment screens
by using pillows with cling wrap, to prevent
any damage during the loading of the cargo.
Ready to fl y
Revised travel restrictions have led to some
planes being reactivated for passenger service.
This means the job of an aircraft engineer
becomes more complicated.
“We have to do inspections, remove the covers
and run the engines, so that everything’s
working fine,” said Yap. “The reactivation
depends on our aircraft storage duration; we
need around one to three weeks to get it back
to life.”
But beyond the technical checks, passenger
cabins prepped for travel amid a pandemic
have to be different from the pre-COVID era.
Philippine Airlines’ cabin crew wear a mob
cap, face mask, gloves as well as a personal
protective suit. Magazines in seat pockets have
been removed, and blankets are available only
for passengers who really need one.
Meals are served in disposable bistro boxes,
and instead of getting drinks poured into a cup,
passengers are now served drinks in bottles.
SMNS