Do pilots and air traffic controllers of different Nationalities have problems in the air?
Dear Capt Kay, I have one interesting question. The English accent of the Chinese, European, American, French and African is very different. So when an American pilot talks to a Chinese air traffic controller, how do they understand and cope with each other? Is there a standard phraseology which everybody follow, where irrespective of your language and accent they can communicate very well? Please let me know. Warm regards Srihari J Hi Srihari, It is not a major problem concerning the different accent of the various people whose mother tongue is not English, communicating with each other. All pilots and air traffic controllers have to pass a R/T (Radio/Telephony) Examination in English before they are allowed to even talk to each other. As you rightly noted, the English accent of the Chinese, European, American, French and African is very different and it can be problematic sometimes. This can result in miscommunication and that is a flight safety hazard! My simple rule of thumb is, if
