Related: Could Plane Cockpits Be Too Secure? Should pilots be allowed to lock themselves in the cockpit?
So over spring break we scored an upgrade to first class, and I saw something I hadn’t seen before: When the pilot left the cockpit to use the bathroom, the two flight attendants up front (1) barricaded the galley/lavatory/cockpit area with a cart; and (2) one of them went into the cockpit while the pilot was gone. Maybe this happens all the time, but I’d never noticed it before. Presumably the flight attendant went into the cockpit so that no one was left alone in there, just in case. Apparently, at least at American Airlines (the airline I flew out to LA), that has been a worry to be secured against. I asked a stewardess later if this procedure was new, but she just said they’re not supposed to talk about it.