LONDON—European airlines and regulators moved swiftly to require at least two people are in a plane's cockpit after it emerged the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 appeared to have crashed the plane while alone in the cockpit. Meanwhile, Canada said Thursday it would enact the two-person rule effective immediately.
The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority urged airlines to review their policy on cockpit occupancy and suggested they make having two people present standard operating procedure, a spokesman said.
The European Aviation Safety Agency with authority over such rules is in talks with stakeholders on what may need to be done, a spokesman said.
Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt told reporters of the policy change following Thursday's parliamentary question-period session, saying it was meant to "fill a gap" in Canadian air-safety rules. She added the order applies to any two members of a passenger flight crew, encompassing pilots and flight attendants.
Two of Canada's largest airlines, Air Canada and WestJet Airlines Ltd., said they were already planning to implement the changes in light of the incident.
In the U.S., two crew members must be in the cockpit at all times.
Germanwings parent Deutsche Lufthansa AG said its rules allowing the pilot or co-pilot to be alone on the cockpit for a brief time hadn't changed.
Flight 9525 co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, a 27-year-old German national, appears to have intentionally put the A320 jet with 150 people on board on its descent that ended in a crash on Tuesday killing all on board, French Prosecutor Brice Robin said Thursday. The pilot, who had left the cockpit earlier, was locked outside by the Mr. Lubitz, the French prosecutor said.
Air Berlin PLC said that as of Friday two staff members would always be in the cockpit even if the pilot or co-pilot stepped out. Norwegian Air Shuttle adopted such a policy earlier Thursday.
Ryanair Holdings PLC, Europe's largest budget carrier, already has such a policy in place, a spokesman said. "If a pilot needs to visit the bathroom the cabin crew supervisor is required to stand in the cockpit for these brief periods," Dublin-based Ryanair said.
Emirates Airline, the world's largest by international traffic, also changed its rules. The Dubai-based carrier said it has "today implemented a new operating policy where there would always be two crew members in the cockpit." The new guidance "is effective immediately," a spokesman said.
The U.K. regulator said it could only recommend such a step since the mandate rests with European authorities.
—Paul Vieira contributed to this article from Ottawa.
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
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