(no subject)
The International Civil Aviation Organization requires that airports serving international traffic must be able to provide air traffic control services in the English language upon request from a pilot, although the local language may be used with pilots that speak it. Using a common language for ATC communications can be helpful to maintain situational awareness, and some airports evidently mandate English, as witness the following exchange, supposedly heard by a Pan Am crew waiting to depart Munich:
Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Unknown voice from another plane (in a British accent): "Because you lost the bloody war."
Lufthansa (in German): "Ground, what is our start clearance time?"
Ground (in English): "If you want an answer you must speak in English."
Lufthansa (in English): "I am a German, flying a German airplane, in Germany. Why must I speak English?"
Unknown voice from another plane (in a British accent): "Because you lost the bloody war."