This follows the Germanwings’ crash.

 

     A statement from the airline, signed by its Chief Executive Officer Mr Cheng Luo, said the airline has also instituted new policies of a mandatory every pre-flight briefing to include procedures for crew vacation from the cockpit. 

 

    Cockpit Crew are therefore reminded before each flight is operated, that they are not allowed to vacate their post, leaving only one person in the cockpit. In the event the Cockpit Crew needs to use the washroom, a Senior Cabin Crew member would be asked to replace him/her until their return.

 

    AWA’s medical care procedures have also been reinforced to ensure that operational staff-Pilots and Cabin Crew- are only allowed to visit the airline’s accredited hospitals.

 

    In the event an operational staff is granted sick leave, in addition to the sick certificate given to the staff, the designated doctor would also notify AWA directly that the staff has been given sick leave.

 

    Further, AWA has increased the frequency at which psychometric testing is carried out on operational staff from once a year (annual) to half yearly (bi-annual).

 

  “While our thoughts are with the families of the victims of the air crash, we would like to assure our customers and the general public that our commitment to run one of the safest airlines in the World will continue to be our primary focus”.

 

   Germanwings Flight 9525, an Airbus A320, took off at 10:01 a.m. March 24 from Barcelona, bound for Dusseldorf but crashed into the mountains in a remote area near Digne-les-Bains in the Alps de Haute-Provence in France, killing all 144 passengers and six crew members on board. 

 

   Investigations so far show that co-pilot of the plane, Andreas Lubitz, intentionally crashed the plane by locking out the captain when he went out to use the lavatory and reprogramming the autopilot to change the plane's altitude from 38,000 feet to 100 feet.

 

  Most aviation authorities have since recommended that there be two people in the cockpit of all passenger aircrafts throughout its journey.