(Hanover Township, PA) – In the midst of designing a brand-new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Checkpoint at Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE), the unexpected arrival of COVID-19 and ensuing pandemic posed the following question:
How does the Airport protect passengers, stakeholders, and employees from airborne pathogens today and in the future?
“There’s no disputing that our focus shifted almost immediately to finding a long-term solution for providing the safest travel environment through enhanced mitigation systems,” said Thomas R. Stoudt, Executive Director, Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority (LNAA).
ABE will be the first airport in the world to install LifeAire Systems – an air purification system designed in the Lehigh Valley that reduces airborne pathogens by over 99% (including COVID-19) and achieved a 96% reduction in harmful surface pathogens in a recent healthcare study.
“After careful research, we discovered the best solution available was born right here in the Lehigh Valley. We’re excited and proud to have formed this partnership with LifeAire Systems that will help protect all of our travelers from across the region,” said Stoudt.
Originally designed for advanced medical applications, LifeAire Systems’ air purification solutions eradicate 99.99% of airborne pathogens and chemical contaminants in a single pass, which maximizes the protection. With installations in hospitals, long term care facilities, IVF programs, schools, police stations—and now ABE—LifeAire is quickly growing into a new standard of air purity, delivering patented advanced protection not found anywhere else in the world.
For over 10 years, LifeAire’s globally-patented technologies have been in a class of their own, consistently chosen by the world’s leading healthcare organizations – including the Mayo Clinic, Yale University, St. Luke’s University Health Network, Stanford University, Northwestern University, Wake Forest and others – for their ability to kill the most resilient and most difficult to kill, airborne pathogens, providing unparalleled protection for patients, staff, and visitors.
“We are beyond proud to have formed this important partnership with ABE to support our mutual goal of providing the best protection possible for the traveling public,” said Dr. Kathryn C. Worrilow, CEO & Founder of LifeAire Systems. “The commitment shown by Thomas Stoudt and the entire ABE team to bring best-of-class technologies into their new facility is truly inspiring and a clear representation that this facility will be a new benchmark for airport safety far into the future.”
A groundbreaking ceremony in May 2021 signaled the takeoff of this $29 million infrastructure project that replaces an existing tunnel which was never designed to expand beyond (2) lanes of passengers screening or implement TSA security equipment post 9/11. Additionally, the return to 2017 passenger traffic numbers, and an even greater return to normal travel activity continuing at ABE, requires a third passenger security screening lane by TSA standards.
The new Security Checkpoint / Terminal Connector Project adds the following:
- 4-lane security checkpoint with latest-generation screening equipment provided by TSA
- New vertical circulation equipment with redundancy to enhance ADA compliance
- Comprehensive air purification system and improved air circulation
- Separation of outbound and inbound passenger flow
Installation of the LifeAire system is expected during the Summer 2022.
About ABE
Lehigh Valley International Airport is conveniently located near Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, Pennsylvania. Allegiant Air, American, Delta, and United have 15 nonstop flights to both leisure destinations and major airline hubs with connections to the world. Destinations include Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Myrtle Beach (seasonal), Nashville, Newark, Punta Gorda, Sanford / Orlando, Sarasota (seasonal), Savannah (seasonal), Clearwater / St. Petersburg, and Washington, D.C. For more information on LNAA, visit www.flyabe.com or www.facebook.com/FlyABE/
About LifeAire Systems
LifeAire Systems, LLC is an innovative healthcare technology company that designs, develops, and commercializes transformational air purification systems for an array of industries, including: In Vitro Fertilization, healthcare, life sciences, long-term care and senior living, dental, education, entertainment, commercial, and transportation. With its genesis in In Vitro Fertilization, LifeAire’s patented, multi-stage purification system remediates up to 99.99% of biological and chemical contaminants in both the source and return air in a single pass, which minimizes human exposure to harmful airborne contaminants and maximizes safety for everyone downstream of the system. From the outset, LifeAire was specifically designed to remediate the most difficult airborne contaminants, specifically the anthrax spore, which enables its technologies to easily kill or inactivate COVID-19 (Coronavirus), tuberculosis, pneumonia, influenza and additional highly infectious airborne pathogens. For this reason, LifeAire is the chosen solution by the world’s leading healthcare institutions and medical centers, including but not limited to the Mayo Clinic, Yale University, St. Luke’s University Health Network, Stanford University, Northwestern University, Wake Forest, UCSF, University of Massachusetts, University of Connecticut, and others. Where LifeAire has been installed, it has consistently delivered significant improvement in key operational metrics and clinical outcomes. For more information, please visit the LifeAire Systems’ website at lifeaire.com.