Airlines are turning to some of the world's hardest-hitting disinfectants, capable of stopping everything from sexually transmitted diseases to the MRSA superbug, in the fight against the coronavirus.

Qantas Airways Ltd., Korean Air Lines Co. and Singapore Airlines Ltd.'s Scoot unit are among carriers that helped evacuate people from the outbreak's epicenter, the Chinese city of Wuhan, and from a cruise ship off Japan. They've stepped up aircraft-cleaning efforts as a result, trying to ensure that planes used in rescue missions are safe to be put back into commercial use.

The standard vacuum-and-wipe cleanup on board has turned into hospital-grade sterilizations.