Toronto – Air Canada and British airline easyJet said on Thursday it is changing its policies to ensure that all flights have two people in the cockpit at all times after initial reports on the Germanwings flight that crashed on Tuesday.
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Canada’s biggest airline is making the change “without delay,” said spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick in an email. He said Air Canada was monitoring the investigation into the crash closely, noting that “at this point the cause is unknown.”
Fitzpatrick declined to describe Air Canada’s previous policy, saying he could not discuss security measures.
British low-cost airline easyJet said it will from Friday require two crew members to be in the cockpit at all times, following the Germanwings crash earlier this week.
A French prosecutor on Thursday said the 28 year old co-pilot of Germanwings flight 4U9525 had locked himself in the cockpit and flew it into the French Alps, killing all 150 on board.
“This decision has been taken in consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority,” easyJet said in a statement. “The safety and security of its passengers and crew is the airline’s highest priority.”
Earlier on Thursday, Norwegian Air Shuttle announced similar plans, as did Air Canada.
Lufthansa, the owner of Germanwings, said at a press conference earlier it had no immediate plans to change its policy.
Under European regulations, pilots may leave the cockpit temporarily at certain times and under certain circumstances, leaving the other pilot alone. U.S. Carriers typically require a member of the cabin crew to stand in the cockpit while one pilot has gone.
knee jerk reactions that accomplishes nothing / zero. An individual having no problem in slamming a plane into a mountain killing 150 people will have no problem overpowering and killing a flight attendant to accomplish the exact same task. Its totally insane what happened.