Cabin Disinfection at Grenoble Alpes Isère (LFLS)

What changes at Grenoble Alpes Isère for cabin disinfection work?

Grenoble Alpes Isère sits at 1,302 feet on the Bièvre plain, about 40 kilometres from the city, with a 3,050-metre asphalt runway that accepts large business jets. The airport's single handling agent, ExecuJet (part of the Luxaviation group), operates from the Terminal Affaires at the airport entrance. Traffic is heavily concentrated in the winter ski season—Alpe d'Huez, Les Deux Alpes, Villard-de-Lans—so business-jet demand peaks from December through April. That seasonal pulse means tight turnaround slots during the high season, and cabin disinfection must fit inside the window between your arrival and the next leg or your crew's rest period.

From December to April, customs follow the airport operator's hours, while from May through November non-Schengen flights require 24 hours' notice on weekdays and 48 hours on weekends or holidays. If you are positioning in from outside the Schengen zone, confirm your PPR and customs arrangement early; the operator offers integrated border control and tax refund on request. We coordinate directly with the handler to ensure our van has airside access and that the aircraft is released to us as soon as the cabin is clear. The 1,302-foot elevation is modest, but winter temperatures on the apron can drop well below freezing, which slows the evaporation of disinfectant mist and requires us to manage cabin ventilation carefully during treatment.

Why does a charter or medical flight need cabin disinfection at Grenoble?

Charter operators and medical-evacuation flights face the same regulatory and reputational pressure: every passenger expects a cabin that is not just clean but demonstrably safe. Cabin Disinfection delivers both. We treat every high-touch surface—armrests, latches, tray tables, galley counters, lavatory handles, door hardware, sidewall switches and air vents—with aviation-approved disinfectants that kill bacteria, viruses and fungi without damaging OEM cabin materials. The air path receives the same attention: we fog or wipe gaspers, overhead vents and return grilles to interrupt any microbial load carried over from the previous leg.

Odour removal is included as standard. Smoke, food, hydraulic or de-icing-fluid smells migrate into soft furnishings and can linger for days if not neutralised. We apply a separate odour-neutralising treatment that breaks down volatile organic compounds rather than masking them. You receive a certificate of treatment—date, registration, disinfectant batch number—that satisfies both your own tech log and any client or broker audit. For charter operators working the ski-season shuttle, that certificate becomes part of the pre-flight brief and a quiet reassurance that the cabin meets the standard your passengers expect.

How does cabin disinfection fit into a Grenoble turnaround?

Timing is everything. A typical disinfection takes one to two hours depending on aircraft size and cabin complexity, and we schedule it to begin as soon as the cabin is clear of passengers, catering waste and crew bags. If you are turning around for an immediate departure, we coordinate with the handler so that fuelling, lavatory service and any exterior work proceed in parallel; our technician works inside while the ramp crew works outside. If the aircraft is remaining overnight or if your crew is taking a rest period, we can start later in the day and finish before your next pre-flight.

We ask for 24 hours' notice whenever possible, but we understand that charter schedules change. If you call in the morning with an afternoon arrival, we will do everything we can to meet you on the ramp. The handler will expect to see our airside pass and escort if required, and we bring our own equipment: backpack sprayer or electrostatic fogger, microfibre cloths, disinfectant and odour-neutraliser in sealed containers, and a camera for the photo report. The cabin must be ventilated during and after treatment—GPU or APU air, doors open if the weather allows—so that residual mist evaporates and any odour from the disinfectant itself dissipates before passengers board.

What exactly do you disinfect inside the cabin?

Every surface a hand or face might touch. We begin with seating: armrests, headrests, recline controls, seat-belt buckles and latches, lumbar switches, power outlets and USB ports. Tables—whether fixed credenza or folding—are wiped top and bottom, along with the hinges and latch mechanisms. Galley counters, drawer pulls, oven and microwave handles, refrigerator seals and coffee-maker touch panels all receive disinfectant; the same applies to the lavatory—sink, taps, flush button, door latch, toilet seat and lid, grab rails, waste-flap handle.

We then move to the air path. Gaspers and overhead vents are wiped or lightly fogged; return grilles in the sidewalls and floor are cleaned to prevent recirculated air from picking up dust or microbial film. Sidewall panels with lighting or window-shade controls are wiped, as are the main cabin door handle (interior side), cockpit-door handle (cabin side) and any emergency-exit latches accessible to passengers. We do not enter avionics bays or touch flight-deck instruments unless specifically asked and supervised. The disinfectant we use is pH-neutral, fast-evaporating and approved for aircraft interiors; it will not stain leather, discolour veneer or leave a sticky residue on glass or metal brightwork.

What does the handler expect when a third-party crew arrives for disinfection?

The handler's first question is always the same: do you have an airside pass, and if not, who is escorting you? ExecuJet at Grenoble will issue a temporary escort or validate our standing pass, but they need to know in advance that we are coming. We provide our company details, vehicle registration and the names of the technicians at least 24 hours before the flight arrives, and we copy the aircraft operator so that everyone is aligned.

Once on the ramp, the handler expects us to follow their safety brief: high-visibility vest, no smoking, no loose equipment near intakes or control surfaces, and no unsupervised access to the aircraft. We bring our own ladder if the cabin door is high; we do not borrow ground-support equipment without asking. If the aircraft is still on GPU or if fuelling is under way, we confirm with the handler that it is safe to open doors and begin work. At the end of the service we collect all waste—used wipes, empty disinfectant bottles, packaging—and dispose of it in the bins the handler designates. We leave the cabin ventilated, the door open or cracked, and we hand the certificate of treatment to the captain or to the handler for onward transmission. The handler appreciates a crew that communicates, arrives on time and leaves no trace.

How do you document cabin disinfection for the tech log and the client?

Documentation is half the value of the service. We produce a certificate of treatment that records the aircraft registration, date, time, disinfectant product name and batch number, the technician's name and signature, and a checklist of the areas treated. That certificate goes into your tech log or voyage report and satisfies any broker, charter client or medical-transport regulator who asks for proof of sanitisation.

We also take photographs: wide shots of the cabin before we start, close-ups of high-touch surfaces during treatment, and a final set showing the cabin ready for the next leg. The photo report is uploaded to a secure link and shared with the aircraft operator within an hour of completion. If your client or your own compliance team wants to see exactly what was done, the images provide that evidence. Some operators append the photo report to the charter invoice as a value-added record; others keep it in a digital folder for audit season. Either way, the combination of a signed certificate and a timestamped photo set turns an invisible service into a documented, defensible procedure that protects both your operation and your reputation.