Southwest Adds Secondary Cockpit Barrier, Allowing Pilots To Safely Dash To The Toilet

Southwest Airlines

One of nan easiest ways to forestall an airliner from being hijacked aliases worse is to extremity unwanted visitors from gaining entree to nan cockpit. While nan cockpit doorway is locked during flights, pilots do person to unfastened nan doorway to person meals and caput to nan lavatory. Southwest Airlines became nan first U.S. bearer to alert a level pinch a secondary obstruction arsenic an added furniture of information erstwhile nan doorway is opened. This characteristic will beryllium a communal show connected each commercialized planes successful nan future.

The Federal Aviation Administration required that each caller rider planes person a secondary cockpit obstruction starting successful August of this year. However, nan agency delayed nan request by a twelvemonth aft being persuaded by Airlines for America, an manufacture lobbying group that represents each awesome hose successful nan country. According to Reuters, nan waste and acquisition statement was pushing for a two-year delay. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), nan world's largest aviator union, wanted regulators to disregard nan petition and cited nan 52 hijacking attempts since 2001.

Southwest's first level pinch a secondary obstruction was a Boeing 737 Max 8 precocious delivered to nan bearer and entered work complete Labor Day weekend, according to CNN. The obstruction itself doesn't look for illustration thing you would spot connected an armored conveyance from nan photos and video shared by Southwest. The folding gross was installed betwixt nan aircraft's first rider doorway and nan cabin. It tin beryllium locked into place, allowing for safe and easy activity betwixt nan cockpit and nan guardant galley and lavatory. Without nan barrier, formation attendants will artifact nan aisle pinch a beverage cart erstwhile opening nan door.

An incident conscionable past period featured an unfastened cockpit door. A British Airways aviator flying a Boeing 777 from London to New York decided to unfastened nan doorway during nan flight. He wanted his family, who were onboard arsenic passengers, to spot him astatine nan controls. The unfastened doorway caught nan attraction of passengers and different unit members. The British emblem bearer suspended nan aviator aft nan formation landed successful New York and canceled nan return flight. However, nan reward was rescinded erstwhile an investigation recovered that location was nary information risk.