Brussels Airlines has decided to impose the permanent presence of two crew members in the cockpit of its planes, it revealed on Friday. The decision was made following talks with Lufthansa (its main shareholder), Belgian airport authorities and the cabinet of the Mobility Minister Jacqueline Galant. On Thursday, two days after a Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed in France, the Belgian tour operator Thomas Cook already took a similar measure.
It involves putting a stewardess or steward in the cockpit if one of the pilots is absent, so there are always two people in the cockpit.
The revelations that the co-pilot of the Germanwings A320 refused to hand back the controls to the captain and voluntarily made the plane dive before the crash meant several airlines put his rule in place.
This is the case for the Belgian tour operator Thomas Cook and different German airlines, including Lufthansa. Other airlines such as EasyJet, which uses Brussels airport, and WIzz Air, which uses Charleroi airport (BSCA) have also adopted it. Jetairfly said it would wait for European authorities on to give their on Friday morning.
The European Commission announced it was seriously considering following the movement on Friday. “We are waiting for the inquiry’s conclusions, and if necessary, safety rules will be reviewed”, its spokesman said.
(Source: Belga)
