Germany mulls flight security measures after Germanwings crash
Source: Deutsche Welle
(Reuters, AFP, dpa)
The tragic crash of Germanwings flight 4U9525 in France has prompted the German government to rethink airline security. Compulsory identity checks on flights within Europe's Schengen Area may be in the cards.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said he was considering the reintroduction of compulsory identity checks on all flights traveling within the European Union and Schengen Area, according to a report in the German mass-market daily "Bild" on Thursday.
Authorities have revisited flight security measures, after Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz is thought to have intentionally crashed an Airbus A320 into the French Alps last week, killing all 150 people on board.
"After the crash, we checked all the passengers and crew to see whether any were known to us as potential assailants - because we wanted to know if it was a terrorist attack. But we found it wasn't at all clear who was even sitting in the plane," de Maiziere told "Bild."
Read more: http://www.dw.de/germany-mulls-flight-security-measures-after-germanwings-crash/a-18357818
Some major changes coming up. This from another page in DW:
http://www.dw.de/reassessing-europes-air-safety-regulations/a-18346424
Checking psychological health
"Pilots suffering from depression are considered unfit to fly, and they are not given their flight certification," one EU official said during a background discussion. Pilots also have a responsibility to tell their employer if they have a condition that would make them unfit to fly.
But Thorsten Onno Bender, a German doctor who regularly examines pilots, said the reality is different. He told DW that psychological illness is difficult to diagnose during a routine medical exam. He also said that there are no compulsory psychological tests.