Canberra - Australia on Monday responded to the Germanwings air disaster by mandating that at least two crew members be present at all times in cockpits of larger domestic and international airliners.
Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said airlines including Qantas and Virgin Australia would implement the changed security protocols from Monday afternoon. It would apply to all commercial flights with a least two flight attendants or more than 50 passengers. A flight attend would enter the flight deck if one of the two pilots left it for any reason.
Previously most Australian airlines have allowed their pilots to be alone on the flight deck.