Thousands of flyers have joined an online petition to press for in-flight safety instructions in regional languages, reviving an old demand that had pointed out that not every domestic traveller might be conversant with either English or Hindi.
Under existing rules, on-board announcements are made in only Hindi and English now.
The petition, started by a group called Kannada Grahakara Koota, wants the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the country's aviation regulator, to make it mandatory for airlines to deliver safety instructions in the official languages of the states between which flights operate.
"Many air passengers flying between Chennai and Bangalore, for instance, won't understand either Hindi or English - so what is the point in giving out safety instructions at all?" said Ganesh Chetan, president of the Bangalore-based group.
The pre-flight safety instructions inform passengers about seat belts, emergency exits, oxygen masks and life vests. A flight attendant narrates the instructions over the aircraft's public address system, while other attendants stand in the aisle to demonstrate the use of oxygen masks and point out emergency exit doors.
Those who want a change in the rules have cited the 2001 census to back their demand. According to the survey, only one in every four Indians spoke or understood Hindi.
The proportion of Indians conversant with English was even less: 7 per cent.
Chetan said the petition would be sent to aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju and the DGCA once a sizeable number of signatories joined the online campaign.
While around 10,000 have already demanded the change, the campaigners are expecting the number to be at least a lakh.
06/03/16 Sumi Sukanya/The Telegraph
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Under existing rules, on-board announcements are made in only Hindi and English now.
The petition, started by a group called Kannada Grahakara Koota, wants the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the country's aviation regulator, to make it mandatory for airlines to deliver safety instructions in the official languages of the states between which flights operate.
"Many air passengers flying between Chennai and Bangalore, for instance, won't understand either Hindi or English - so what is the point in giving out safety instructions at all?" said Ganesh Chetan, president of the Bangalore-based group.
The pre-flight safety instructions inform passengers about seat belts, emergency exits, oxygen masks and life vests. A flight attendant narrates the instructions over the aircraft's public address system, while other attendants stand in the aisle to demonstrate the use of oxygen masks and point out emergency exit doors.
Those who want a change in the rules have cited the 2001 census to back their demand. According to the survey, only one in every four Indians spoke or understood Hindi.
The proportion of Indians conversant with English was even less: 7 per cent.
Chetan said the petition would be sent to aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju and the DGCA once a sizeable number of signatories joined the online campaign.
While around 10,000 have already demanded the change, the campaigners are expecting the number to be at least a lakh.
06/03/16 Sumi Sukanya/The Telegraph
