You might soon hear instructions in your local language next time you travel on a flight. On Thursday, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an advisory stating that in-flight announcements be made in the state¡¯s local language to ¡®extent feasible¡¯.
The Indian aviation regulatory body said that announcements regarding important heritage and cultural monuments shall also be made to boost Indian tourism among travellers. PTI reported, the issued advisory said that announcements in local language would be in addition to the ones made in Hindi and English.
However, the aforementioned additional in-flight announcements be made only without compromising any safety requirements or core job functions of crew members.
Photo: AP
Reportedly, in 2016, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had issued a circular asking airports under its control to make public announcements in the local language followed by Hindi and English.
Vijay Sardesai of Goa Forward Party said that his party workers would not allow airlines to operate at the only airport in Goa- Dabolim airport if announcements were not made in the official language of the coastal state which is Konkani. ¡°Blacking out Konkani at the Goa airport is unacceptable and we should project our language first,¡± Sardesai had said on December 22.
The advisory further mentioned that announcements for main monuments like Taj Mahal, Statue of Unity, Konark Temple and other heritage sites should be made enroute to the destination.