Passengers boarding a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-800

Southwest Airlines is increasing its daily cleaning regimen in an effort to provide its customers with greater protection against the spread of the new coronavirus.

Southwest is improving upon the six labor hours of cleaning it performs on its planes each night by increasing its use of EPA-approved, hospital-grade disinfectants on various touchpoints inside the plane, the company announced in a Friday blog post. The disinfectant is being applied in key areas across the passenger cabin, flight deck and lavatories.

Cabins are cleaned and disinfected in a multi-step process that targets the interior window areas, all seatbelt buckles, the bottoms that control reading lights and personal air, seats, tray tables and armrests. These areas will be cleaned and disinfected between flights by attendants and ground operations workers.

Lavatories are receiving more attention via disinfectant, including more work on mirrors and ceiling panels.

Enhanced treatment in the flight deck includes more nightly attention to microphones and the handles used by pilots.

Southwest is asking people who choose to bring surface cleaning wipes aboard their flight to not use products that contain bleach as these could damage surfaces.

Delta Airlines shared its plans on how it will combat coronavirus on Monday, just days after Southwest Airlines made its announcement. For a detailed view of Delta's plans, click here.