Lift apparatus for an aircraft and an aircraft including the lift apparatus

A lift apparatus for transporting objects between a first compartment of an aircraft and a second compartment of the aircraft through an aperture in a floor structure separating the first compartment and the second compartment from each other, the lift apparatus comprising:

• a conveyor comprising a retaining portion that selectively retains and releases objects to be transported;
• a guide to which the conveyor is mounted such that the conveyor is linearly movable in a guided manner along a predetermined path of motion defined by the guide, wherein the guide is disposed in only the first or the second compartment;
• and
• a mover for driving the conveyor to linearly move along the predetermined path of motion;
• the conveyor further comprising a closing portion, wherein the retaining portion and the closing portion are disposed one after the other along the predetermined path of motion, and wherein the lift apparatus is configured to be mounted in the aircraft such that the predetermined path of motion defined by the guide extends through the aperture,
• wherein the conveyor is selectively movable along the predetermined path of motion between a first position, in which the closing portion is spaced from the floor structure and the aperture and at least part of the retaining portion is disposed between the floor structure and the closing portion, and a second position, in which the closing portion closes the aperture, and
• wherein the closing portion comprises a continuous contact surface, which faces the retaining portion and abuts a recessed portion of the floor structure surrounding the aperture when the conveyor is in the second position.