- post 9-11, with intrusion proof door and before cameras installed, what means were used to comply with visual check requirement with a pilot returning from loo?
Never happened. Reinforced doors alway were installed with a CCTV system. At least at the airlines i worked for. However, if i remember correctly, the rule about the locked door didn't came into force until 2002 or so due to limited supply. There was no point in locking doors which could be opened from the outside even if locked...
And yes, we can take jumpseaters, but only company flying staff with a valid ticket (until a couple months ago any pilot from any airline, until the unmentionable airline became unhappy about it) except on flights to and from the UK, US and Israel. Since we do not fly to the UK, it is only about the other two countries for us.
Anyway, the EASA recommendation is just that, it is a recommendation which is currently under review. Not a rule (yet). Quite some airlines in europe didn't follow that recommendation and those that did, had mixed experiences with it. Hiring hundreds or even thousands of muslim and eastern europeans as cabin crew each year can make security assessment results rather different than with other carriers.