A safety measure added at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport this week will rid the air of any harmful bacteria or viruses to keep employees and travelers healthy, said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority.

An ultraviolet light system was installed in the Unity airport’s HVAC unit Wednesday. The Reme Halo system purifies air and kills bacteria, mold and viruses.

“Everyone that’s in the terminal building will reap the benefit,” Monzo said.

The $7,000 system was added to an ongoing $1 million HVAC project. The system was installed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic now and in the future. It will clean the air everywhere in the terminal, including in DeNunzio’s Italian Chophouse & Sinatra Bar.

Manager Anthony DeNunzio said the addition will be a huge benefit to the restaurant that is operating at 25% capacity under mandates from state and health officials. It’s been tough to operate a restaurant with those pandemic-related restrictions, but DeNunzio sees the new system as another way to make diners comfortable.

“That is very important that we keep everybody safe,” he said. “We all take a tremendous amount of pride in that airport.”

Pittsburgh International Airport this year added ultraviolet lights to its robotic floor scrubbers to disinfect floors and handrails with the help of Lawrenceville-based Carnegie Robotics.

The UVC rays are bright enough to penetrate and damage the DNA of dangerous “superbug” bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA, and Clostridium difficile, or C.diff, UPMC doctors have said.

Airports saw dramatic drops in airline travel in the spring as a result of the pandemic’s impact. Spirit Airlines resumed traffic in June out of the Unity airport to locations in Florida and South Carolina.

Monzo said it’s been a “fluid situation” since then.

“It picked up real quick and it sort of leveled off,” he said.

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