Low-cost carrier Norwegian has announced new protocol mandating that two crew members are always present in the cockpit during a flight.
The announcement follows the latest information about the Germanwings A320 that crashed on Tuesday, killing all 150 onboard. A French public prosecutor reported that ‘Black box’ recordings indicate the co-pilot deliberately crashed the aircraft, after locking the captain out of the cockpit.
In a statement, Norwegian said that “in light of the tragic Germanwings accident” it was changing its procedures, in line with US regulations. “This means that if one of the pilots leaves the cockpit, one crew member must replace him/her during this time.”
The airline said currently there are no European regulatory requirements stating that two crew members must be in the cockpit at all times. Norwegian added that the new procedures will be implemented as soon as the airline has received an approval from the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority.