The new regulation requires two authorized individuals in the cockpit at all times.
After news of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz’s deliberate crash of the Germanwings Flight 9525 spread, airlines across the globe adopted new regulations to further ensure cockpit security. Airlines such as easyJet and Norwegian Air immediately changed their piloting policies after investigators revealed the cause of the fatal crash that killed 150 individuals.
The new cockpit policy being put into effect by many airlines requires the presence of two qualified individuals inside the cockpit at all times throughout the flight. In the United States, all airlines in the Federal Aviation Administration already have this policy, although many airliners in Europe do not. If any of the pilots needs to leave the cockpit for whatever reason, then another qualified member of the flight crew must take the pilot’s place in the cockpit until he or she returns. In addition to several European airlines, all airlines from Canada will implement this new rule.
Lufthansa airlines, the parent company of Germanwings, issued a statement on Friday that expressed new safety measures to be implemented, which include the “two-person” rule in the cockpit. “The airlines of the Lufthansa Group are to adopt a new cockpit occupancy procedure as a precautionary measure. Under the new procedure, two authorized persons must be present in the cockpit at all times during a flight,” said the statement.
“In addition to the safety pilots at each of its member airlines, the new position of Group Safety Pilot has been created until further notice. The new post will be assumed with immediate effect by Captain Werner Maas, who will hold it in parallel with his current function as Safety Pilot of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.”
The new position created by the airline group will hold the responsibility of “examining and further refining all flight safety-relevant procedures” and will report directly to Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr.
