BA will drop ‘ladies and gentlemen’ to promote diversity
British Airways will drop the customary ‘ladies and gentlemen’ formula from announcements to promote a more diverse and inclusive environment aboard its planes.
“We celebrate diversity and inclusion and we’re committed to ensuring that all our customers feel welcome when travelling with us,” a British Airways spokesperson told the Telegraph.
As reported by the paper, the carrier has instructed its staff to adapt the language when making announcements on board.
British Airways is the latest in a series of airlines – including Qantas, Air Canada, Easyjet and recently Lufthansa – to adopt a more inclusive language.
Changes are not taking place only at the airlines’ level but are increasingly seen at all levels of the industry. In June 2021, an advisory recommended the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) – the US agency that regulates civil aviation in the country – to change replace gendered words with more inclusive synonyms.
“To ensure inclusion of all regardless of gender identity, and to avoid burdensome language, we recommend utilising gender-neutral language (e.g., “person”; “they”) rather than gender-binary (e.g., “man or woman”; “he or she”),” read the report.