Air France ruling raises issue of language barrier
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from April 2000.
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On 23 March, Air France, instituting a policy that company officials call "prevention and safety of "flights," started requiring all pilots to speak English when flying to the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport.
Critics say it's another example of the English language's creeping worldwide dominance. However, Air France says the decision was made out of concern for safety. "Often, other pilots in the area who don't speak French can't understand when the pilots and the control tower communicates," said Jean-Claude Couturier, a spokesman for Air France. "We wanted to do this before something tragic happened."
Last week, Quebec's minister responsible for the French language Charter, Louise Beaudoin, lambasted the decision as "scandalous."
