HOW IT BEGAN/POCZĄTKI AVIATION ENGLISH

Year 1951 turned out to be a milestone in the aerospace industry when the authorities of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) suggested English language become a universal\standard language for radio communication with reference to international flights. Furthermore, only some of the terms started to be treated as universal ones like Mayday or Pan-Pan. Unfortunately, for most of the technical terms used on the radio it was only a suggestion, not an obligation.

The mid 70s changed everything when the recommendation to use standard English language was transformed to an international ICAO requirement. The reasons for that were some of the deadliest accidents which were mainly caused by language barriers and the use of a non-standard aviation Language leading to misunderstandings and in result, to deaths of many people.

These were the circumstances that made English proficiency an obligation…