OSLO (AFP) - Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle said Thursday it would require two people in the cockpit at all times for safety reasons.

"When one person leaves the cockpit, two people will now have to be there," Norwegian's flight operations director Thomas Hesthammer said.

The announcement came after French officials said the co-pilot of the doomed Germanwings flight that crashed Tuesday appeared to have locked the pilot out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the plane.

All 150 passengers and crew were killed in the crash.

Hesthammer said Norwegian's new measure was expected to be enforced as of Friday.

"We have been discussing this for a long time but this development has accelerated things," he said.

The new measures have been presented to Norway's civil aviation authorities for approval.

Norwegian Air Shuttle is Europe's third-largest low-cost airline.

Hesthammer said current European regulations made no such requirements at the moment.