Does anyone else object to the phrase "You may now disembark the aircraft"?

Question

I fly with EasyJet twice a week and every time a plane lands a senior member of the cabin crew announces over the tannoy, "You may now disembark the aircraft using the forward exit." But disembark in this sense is intransitive: the correct phrase should be, "You may now disembark FROM the aircraft using the forward exit." Is it just me?

Answer 1

I find this question VERY interesting (capitalisation for those who have opposite opinion) and here is my answer:

First, dictionary.com says that disembark means:

1. to go ashore from a ship.
2. to leave an aircraft or other vehicle.

and therefore I think the correct sentence should be

"You may now disembark using the forward exit."

BTW, if you have no interest in the discussion, why bother replying here? just to annoy the asker?

Answer 2

No, you are absolutely right. Disembarking an aircraft is an impossibility, of course. I get really annoyed with this type of mistake, as well.
I hear and see so much poor English, which, to me, is appalling. Much of the incorrect language usage that I see and hear, often on television, becomes commonplace, and accepted as correct. Most people do not even realize how poor their language skills are.
I did not speak English until I was an adult, so maybe I am more conscious of speaking and writing correctly, but any native speaker of English should, by rights, have a better control of the language than I do, and that is usually not the case.

Answer 3

You are correct. Disembark requires "from." Aircraft do not disembark.

I should mention that embark and disembark really refer to boats, not airplanes - a barque or barc or -bark means boat.

Most people couldn't care less. But there's hope. Stop & Shop supermarkets have signs that say "Fewer than 10 items," and not "Less than 10 items."

Answer 4

Incorrect usage - I guess so. But there are more important in life to worry about than to get upset by this. I am appalled by the lack of care the way people use the english language even those whom I DO expect to have good grasp of it.

Example: I see something like this all the time - "This house is comprised of four bedrooms" whereas it should be "comprises four bedrooms". But what should I do? Go to the sign maker and the real estate agent and tell them they are wrong every time I see this sign?

NO ONE use perfect grammar all the time - including me! Do our best and model good usage. Don't waste your energy getting bothered by this.

(Now I guess you will pull this answer apart and pick out all the faults. Which reinforce the very point many people here have made - It's just YOU. Just get over it!)

Answer 5

Way to go Grammar Police! Props to my man!

It's as bad as "we are now pre-boarding" - getting onto the plane, no matter how much earlier than the others is still "boarding"...

or "you may choose any seat on the aircraft." No thank you, I'll sit IN the aircraft if you don't mind.

Answer 6

'disembark' includes the 'idea' of the word 'from'. You may have a point - but - the word is inclusive of your 'added' meaning. 'Disembark the aircraft' is technically correct grammar.
You would 'embark' the aircraft - thus you, yada, yada..... .

Answer 7

My Chinese students struggle constantly with this sort of thing, as Mandarin apparently does not distinguish transitive from intransitive. In front of me now: "Do not waste of water." (Though this is actually a verb/noun confusion.) Isn't English fascinating?

Answer 8

You're absolutely correct; "disembark" is used incorrectly in this case. Thank God someone else notices such glaring grammatical errors -- I thought it was just me!! I have another one for you, as well: the use of "wellness" as a substitute for "health". It drives me mad!!!!

Answer 9

Yes I do, but in America they say 'de board' I think thats a bit odd too

Answer 10

The bigger issue for me is when I get to an airport and the most prominent word I see is "TERMINAL". It really does not inspire one to fly!!