Roundup: Following German airlines, more European airways adopt two-person cockpit rule after Germanwings crash

As German airlines have decided to introduce new cockpit rules after the Germanwings plane crash, more European airlines followed suit to enhance safety of their flights.

"German airlines have adopted as a first step a new preliminary procedure that requires two authorized people to be in the cockpit of planes at all times," the German Aviation Association BDL said Friday in a statement.

BDL spokesman Christine Kolmar told Xinhua that all BDL members, including the Lufthansa Group, would have to follow the new rules. In addition, several non-member airlines have also voiced willingness to introduce the new cockpit rules.

A total of 150 people lost their lives on Tuesday as a Germanwings passenger plane crashed in southern French Alps. Only the co-pilot was in the cockpit at the time.

The investigation into the crash of the flight 4U9525 reached an unexpected turning point on Thursday as an audio recording from the plane's black box showed that the German co-pilot appeared to deliberately crash the aircraft after locking the flight's captain out of the cockpit.

A number of other airlines in Europe, including Norwegian Air, Easyjet, and Icelandair, have announced changes to cockpit procedures following the latest developments of the Germanwings tragedy probe.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Friday issued a recommendation that at least two crew members should be in the cockpit at all times of flight.

At least two crew members including at least one qualified pilot should be in the flight crew compartment at all times of the flight, according to EASA.

Airlines should reassess the safety and security risks associated with a flight crew leaving the cockpit due to operational or physiological needs, said the statement of EASA.

According to Belgian media reports on Friday, tour operator Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium has said it will enforce "in the immediate future" the continued presence of two crew members in the cockpit of all aircraft operating under its services.

In addition, Latvian national carrier airBaltic, Air Malta, Scandinavian airline SAS, Italy's national airline Alitalia, Brussels Airlines, Croatia's national airline Croatia Airlines (CA), Poland's flag carrier LOT Polish Airlines, etc., announced to follow the two-person cockpit rule.

Austria's air authority required the country's national airlines to always have two pilots in cockpit during a flight.

The requirement became effective on Friday, Austro Control, the Austrian air authority, said in a statement.

The Portuguese government on Friday also introduced the measure to ensure that there are always two crew members in the cockpit.

The decision was taken by the Portuguese Civil Aviation Institute (INAC) and the measure will be applied to all airlines with offices in Portugal, including TAP, Portugalia, SATA, White, Euroatlantic and Hi Fly.

Meanwhile, the INAC said the level of medical evaluations will remain for crew members and air traffic controllers. These include collecting evidence of physical, mental and psychological fitness.

German media Spiegel Online reported Friday that investigators had found evidence showing the Germanwings co-pilot was mentally unsound. Heated discussions abounded after Duesseldorf prosecutors announced later that a sick-leave note prescribed by doctors was found in the co-pilot's home.

Kolmar told Xinhua that Germany's psychological testing system for pilots was comprehensive and there were currently no concrete plans to introduce separate psychological tests for pilots in addition to routine checks.

But she did not rule out the possibility of holding talks in the future over whether it was necessary to adopt new rules on the topic. Endit