New Lavatory for aircraft passengers with reduced mobility - Prototype at Singapore Airshow exhibited

This prototype has been built for our parent company ST Engineering who developed the lavatory design for the A320 PAX programme. Airlines will take advantage of the expandable lavatory called ‘ACCESS’ for several reasons.

Firstly, with the introduction of new narrow body aircraft flying longer distances, narrow body aircraft has taken over many routes normally served by wide body aircraft. In addition, as narrow body aircraft are more economical and cheaper to fly, more routes are opening up over the world, with this trend likely to continue. With a smaller seat count, the revenue-generating space on board these long range narrow body aircraft is even more precious than on a wide body aircraft.

Secondly, due to the aging world population, and call for greater equality and dignity in access to air travel, these trends have led to a renewed interest in aircraft lavatory design to cater for Passengers with Reduced Mobility (PRM). Although some of the lavatories solutions are labelled “PRM capable”, the existing available space makes it challenging for a PRM to manoeuvre within the confined area. 

And thirdly, the US Department of Transport (DOT) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) to address accessible lavatories on narrow body aircraft.

The new PRM lavatory designed by ST Engineering and produced by EFW is addressing all these needs and allows for both, the unassisted transfer from on-board wheelchair (OBW) to toilet and the assisted transfer with caregiver assistance easy access. It is fully functional in unexpanded and expanded state and offers increased useable space compared to conventional lavatories both, unexpanded (20% larger) and expanded (40% larger). The prototype will also be exhibited at the AIX in Hamburg from 14-16 June.