Air Seychelles adopts 'rule of two' safety policy on all flights
General |Author: Hajira Amla | April 2, 2015, Thursday @ 10:00| 4650 views
An Air Seychelles flight prepares to land (Air Seychelles)
(Seychelles News Agency) - Just over week after the Germanwings air tragedy that claimed the lives of all 150 people on board, Air Seychelles has confirmed to SNA that it has decided to adopt a ‘rule of two’ policy to ensure passenger and crew safety.
Under the rules, a flight attendant must stand in each time the pilot or co-pilot leaves the cockpit.
Airlines in countries around the world, including France, Canada, Australia and the United Arab Emirates began to adopt the safety measure after evidence emerged that the Germanwings Flight 4U9525 co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had intentionally crashed the plane into the French Alps while the pilot had been out of the cockpit.
The Germanwings crash appears to have been a case of suicide and mass killing, according to French investigators.
The ‘rule of two’ had already been implemented in the United States before the Germanwings crash.
A spokesperson for Air Seychelles, the national airline of the 115-island Indian Ocean archipelago of Seychelles, confirmed the policy’s immediate implementation to SNA via email on Wednesday.
“We have reviewed our operating procedures following the tragic incident in France,” said the spokesperson.
“With immediate effect we will ensure that there are always two crew members in the flight deck at all times, on all flights.”
"Safety is Air Seychelles’ number one policy,” he concluded.
Etihad Airways, which is Air Seychelles’ Abu Dhabi-based strategic partner, made a similar announcement to AFP on Monday.
The International Air Transport Association, IATA, also told AFP that safety remained the top priority of everyone involved in the aviation industry.
“People should be reassured that flying remains the safest way to travel. Any accident is one too many. People can take further confidence in the well-established and constant determination of the aviation industry and governments to make this safe industry even safer,” said IATA’s Director General and CEO, Tony Tyler.