How do air traffic control personnel communicate with pilots from other countries with different languages?

Answer 1

Great question. I've flown to fifty one countries on six continents and for the most part, English is the universal ATC language. But, and this is a huge but, just because we are all speaking the same language, doesn't mean we're doing a very good job of communicating. Accents, and dialects coupled with the inherent problems that comes with radio communications really present some huge challenges especially in the weather. Another problem is the metric system vs our system of measure. In Russia and China, altitudes are expressed in meters instead of feet. Our altimeters read in feet of course so one person in the cockpit ends up staring at a conversion chart trying to figure out how many feet worth of meters is the last altitude clearance we just got assigned.

I had the occasion to fly around Russia for about three weeks several years ago. Although the international airports like, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok etc. do have English speaking controllers, the domestic airports and airways do not. Nor are the charts in English. All Russian. We had to take along a Russian navigator to sit in the cockpit with us to translate what was being said over the radio and read the charts to us. Not a comfortable feeling. Fortunately this guy really knew his stuff and we had no problems but the weather was great everywhere too. Not sure what I'd have done had the sky turned to crud all of a sudden.

Answer 2

The international language is English.

Answer 3

English is the international language of civilian aviation for controllers (at least for subscriber nations to the International Civil Aviation Organization). Contrary to what has been posted, however, not all pilots are required to read, speak, and understand English---pilots operating in U.S. airspace are so required. But not pilots everywhere. As for the controllers, they are required to be able to perform their communication functions in English (subject to their accents) BUT they may and often do speak to the native pilots in their own language. It is not at all uncommon for an American pilot to be flying in Mexican airspace, more or less communicating with the Mexican controllers in English, but to still hear the controllers speaking in Spanish to Mexican pilots and for those pilots to be speaking in Spanish. In other words, there can be a lot of non-English on the frequency and you won't know what is being said, except for the English transmissions.

Answer 4

Eso es porque desemejante de la manera que las cosas están entrando aquí en el inglés de Estados Unidos está la lengua universal de la aviación.

translation: That is because unlike the way things are going here in the United States english is the universal language of aviation.

Answer 5

No they do not. ENGLISH is the language of the air ways. Air traffic all around the world english is used. I am not sure about Russian air space.

Answer 6

To ensure communication, all pilots and all controllers everywhere are required to be able to speak and understand English, although they may use any compatible language.
So a French pilot could talk to a French controller in French.

Answer 7

usually, in all parts of the world english is the most dominate language for air traffic controllers.

Answer 8

English has been adopted as the official language used in aviation.

Answer 9

English is the language of international commercial aviation around the world.

Answer 10

To fly in the U.S., pilots must be able to communicate in English, otherwise they can't fly. I'm sure in their own country, they speak their own language.