English is the standardized language for air traffic personnel and pilots since 2001.
English is the standardized language for air traffic personnel and pilots since 2001. In 2001, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) determined that English would be the standardized language of air travel and issued a directive that stated that all aviation personnel—pilots, flight crews, and air traffic controllers—must pass an English proficiency test. The mandatory compliance date was March 5, 2008. Not only must applicants know the appropriate aviation terminology in English, but they must also understand English instructions via radio, with no facial cues to prompt them. They also must learn to develop as benign an accent as possible, so that they are “intelligible to the aeronautical community.”
The ICAO had set new standards for English knowledge for all pilots and air traffic controllers. All speakers of Aviation English must demonstrate minimum English language proficiency at ICAO in order to be fully licensed internationally.
Copied!