# How Multilingual do international commercial airline pilots need to be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-multilingual-do-international-commercial-airline-pilots-need-to-be/449112 "2008-05-13T00:38:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-multilingual-do-international-commercial-airline-pilots-need-to-be/449112/1 "2008-05-13T00:38:37Z")
Does every pilot flying into the U.S. have to be able to speak English? Every pilot flying into Brazil have to speak Portuguese? Every pilot flying into Ethiopia have to speak Amharic? Every pilot flying into Australia have to speak Kangaroo? On the flip side, in countries whose languages are not internationally widespread, are the air traffic controllers expected to be able to communicated in a commonly observed language second to their native tongue? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-multilingual-do-international-commercial-airline-pilots-need-to-be/449112/2 "2008-05-13T00:40:33Z")
As I understand things, every commercial pilot flying anywhere has to speak and understand English. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-multilingual-do-international-commercial-airline-pilots-need-to-be/449112/3 "2008-05-13T00:41:46Z")
I am not a pilot, but I believe that English is the language of international aviation. So an Ethiopian pilot flying into Brazil would communicate with the tower in English. Edit - beaten to it :o ---
**Author:** ![Unix\_Geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unix_geek/32/19368_2.png) [@Unix\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unix_Geek)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-multilingual-do-international-commercial-airline-pilots-need-to-be/449112/4 "2008-05-13T00:43:45Z")
> **[English to become compulsory for pilots](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/761307/English-to-become-compulsory-for-pilots.html)** > > Pilots and air traffic controllers must now be able to speak English, new safety guidelines have stated. David Millward reports. Interesting article on how English standards are being raised for international pilots and air traffic controllers at international airports. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-multilingual-do-international-commercial-airline-pilots-need-to-be/449112/5 "2008-05-13T12:53:08Z")
A friend was a Captain for TWA, since retired, and he told me that all communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC) and towers was in English world wide, with the exception or Quebec Provence in Canada. Now this was twenty years ago and might have changed, or might not have been true even then. But he commented that it was strange that you spoke English flying into France, and French flying into Quebec. Can anyone verify? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-multilingual-do-international-commercial-airline-pilots-need-to-be/449112/6 "2008-05-13T12:55:18Z")
I read someone that English is considered the “BASIC” language, used in Business, _Airplanes_, Science, Industry, and Commerce. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-multilingual-do-international-commercial-airline-pilots-need-to-be/449112/7 "2008-05-13T13:02:28Z")
“Aviation English” is required of pilots flying internationally. This is not conversational English, it’s the amount of English required to communicate aviation-related items of importance. I’ve think I’ve mentioned elsewhere that what pilots and ATC say to each other is actually pretty ritualized and limited That said, as a practical matter where ATC and a pilot can communicate in the local language that is (as far as I know) permitted. English is the designated “common tongue” for those not sharing native languages. The Quebec issue involved local politics - the Quebecois live under the same international treaties as the rest of Canada, which made Aviation English the common language. They _preferred_ to use French, that’s all. Pilots using French probably got better service. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-multilingual-do-international-commercial-airline-pilots-need-to-be/449112/8 "2008-05-13T13:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] I am not a pilot, but I believe that English is the language of international aviation. So an Ethiopian pilot flying into Brazil would communicate with the tower in English. [/QUOTE] Even an Ethiopian pilot flying into Ethiopia would have to speak English, I believe. I’m pretty sure Dutch pilots flying into Schiphol speak English with the people in the control tower.