AER LINGUS AND Ryanair have confirmed both airlines require two people to be in the cockpit at all times when a plane is in the air.
It comes in the wake of today’s revelation that the co-pilot of the Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday appeared to want to destroy the plane.
A French prosecutor said today that on the basis of information from the “black box” flight recorder, he had been alone in the cockpit and intentionally started his descent while the pilot was locked outside.
“If a Cockpit Crew member needs to leave the cockpit, a Cabin Crew member is required to remain in the cockpit, with the door closed, while the Cockpit Crew Member is absent,” an Aer Lingus spokesperson said.
“Pilots and Cabin Crew are trained in cockpit door procedures during initial training and during annual recurrent training.”
“Ryanair requires two people to be in the cockpit at all times,” a spokesperson for the budget carrier said.
“If a pilot needs to visit the bathroom the cabin crew supervisor is required to stand in the cockpit for these brief periods.”
British airline EasyJet said today it would enforce a new policy for two crew members to be in the cockpit at all times from tomorrow.
“EasyJet can confirm that, with effect from tomorrow… it will change its procedure,” the airline said in a statement.
Similar decisions have been announced by Canada’s Air Transat, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Icelandair but EasyJet is by far the biggest airline to take action.
The low-cost carrier transported nearly 65 million people around Europe over its last financial year and has 8,000 employees.
It has a fleet of 200 Airbus planes.
Includes reporting from AFP.
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