Bathroom doors that open without touching them: the invention of a Japanese airline.

The Japanese airline ANA is testing a new door for its airplane bathrooms that opens without touching it with your hands, according to CNN.

Aircraft lavatory hygiene was already a concern before the health crisis, but it has increased with the pandemic.

Aircraft toilets are usually disinfected between uses, but it is difficult to access a completely clean one in the middle of a flight, and there is also the problem of lack of space, which limits possible improvements to the current system.

Now, the doors of the airplane toilets usually open inwards and have small handles instead of knobs, also as a latch. That’s why ANA – which is also testing flights that go nowhere – now has an airplane door that is activated by the elbow, a hygienic invention that at the same time adapts to the available space.

For now, it is a prototype that is being tested in the lounge of Tokyo International Airport, Japan, until the end of August, in search of feedback. If it receives the desired ratings and is easy to use, ANA could extend the invention to its planes.

The door has been designed by the company specialized in products for the aviation industry JAMCO, which is known for its airplane seats, its kitchens and, precisely, its toilets.

Airlines are struggling to regain customer confidence after suffering a near total shutdown of flights in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, new travel restrictions are making it harder for air traffic to recover, so industry players say they don’t expect to regain pre-pandemic flight levels until 2024.

Por Business Insider