The presence of passengers in an aircraft’s cockpit is a breach of safety regulations and against Malaysia Airlines (MAS) policy, says the airline’s chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.

Ahmad Jauhari (right) said this at a press conference yesterday when asked about allegations that MAS co-pilot Fariq Ab Hamid and another pilot had brought two passengers into the cockpit during a flight in December 2011.

Fariq is also the co-pilot aboard missing the flight MH370.

“We are against any form of act that will compromise the safety of the aircraft, and that includes that (behaviour). That is completely against the company’s policy,” he said.

Thus far, MAS has neither confirmed nor denied the alleged incident aboard the Phuket–Kuala Lumpur flight, only stressing that it views the matter seriously but that its attention is now solely on the MH370 crisis.

It also urged the media and the public to respect the privacy of the crew and passengers aboard MH370.

Separately, Malaysiakini has also sighted an excerpt from MAS’ operations manual, which explicitly lists two categories of persons who are allowed to use the cockpit’s jump seat.

“The following two categories of personnel, on production of valid ID cards or other written authority, may occupy the flight deck jump seats, subject to the commander’s approval. The use of any flight deck jump seat by a commercial passenger not listed below is prohibited,” it says.

Broadly speaking, the first category lists technical staff and Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) officers on official duty.

This 15-point list includes security personnel, technicians from aircraft manufacturers, flight crew from other airlines, and engineers dealing with flight operations.

The second category permits MAS staff to use the seats for compassionate travel in case of “death or imminent death of a near relative” or “catastrophe occurring to home of staff in their country of permanent residence.”

The manual further states that the presence of any person in the aircraft’s cockpit is subject to the captain’s approval, and he may exclude any person from the cockpit in the interest of safety even if they fall within these two categories.

Once inside the cockpit, the person will be instructed not distract or interfere with the flight, not to touch equipment such as controls and switches, not to smoke, and not to even talk unless invited to do so by the captain.

The only exception is for DCA operational staff, who “shall have uninterrupted access to flight deck and jump seat”.

‘Duo invited into the cockpit’

Allegations of a security breach emerged following media reports quoting one of the two passengers who was supposedly invited into the cockpit while queuing to board the plane.

The passenger, Jonti Roos, claimed they posed for photos with the pilots and that the pilots had smoked.

Photos published alongside did show the pilots posing for photos with the passengers in the cockpit, but did not show photos of smoking.

The identity of the other pilot involved was not mentioned in the report.

The two pilots aboard MH370 had been described as very proficient pilot, and CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest had commended Fariq for ‘textbook-perfect’ landings with the Boeing 777-200ER. He has 2,763 hours of flight experience.

The captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, has 18,365 flight hours to his credit, and also trains other pilots to fly the airliner.

Nevertheless, the authorities have maintained that they are pursuing all leads, whether it is mechanical failure, sabotage, hijacking, or psychological problems of passenger or crew.