Norwegian Air Shuttle, a European discount airline, will now require that no one ever be left alone in the cockpit during its flights.

“When one person leaves the cockpit, two people will now have to be there,” the airline’s flight operations director, Thomas Hesthammer, said on Thursday, Agence France-Presse reported.

The airline’s new safety rule will go in effect Friday, the agency reported.

The Germanwings crash prompted the action, Mr. Hesthammer is quoted as saying. “We have been discussing this for a long time, but this development has accelerated things.”