British Airways to stop using ‘ladies and gentlemen’ announcement to promote diversity

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British Airways has advised pilots and cabin crew to drop its “ladies and gentlemen” announcement for passengers on board its planes. The move will see more gender-neutral terms being used.

The airline has said this is to “ensure all customers feel welcome” when travelling with them.

A British Airways spokesperson told the Telegraph: “We celebrate diversity and inclusion and we’re committed to ensuring that all our customers feel welcome when travelling with us.”

It is also thought that BA will make children feel more included.

The company follows airlines such as Lufthansa, easyJet and Air Canada in 2019.

In 2018, Qantas launched its “Spirit of Inclusion” campaign which encourages the team to use more inclusive language towards passengers.

A spokesperson for the airline previously said: “We want Qantas to be an inclusive workplace and we shared some factsheets created by the Diversity Council of Australia with some suggestions for more inclusive language, particularly on gender, age and LGBTI issues.”

In 2019, easyJet said: “We want our crew to be welcoming everyone onboard and so have provided some guidance to them on how to best do that in a way that is inclusive for everyone.”

The airline has said it has not “ditched” or “banned” the use of the phrase “ladies and gentlemen”, but rather “provided guidance on how to welcome all customers in a friendly and inclusive way”.

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The move from the airlines could see others following in their footsteps.

Taking to Twitter to share their thoughts on the news, passengers were delighted with British Airways’ announcement.

One user, John Cox, said: “They should have done this years ago, all airlines are only catching up with the rapid changes.”

Another person, Graham Johnson said: “I’m intrigued to know what they will say instead.”

“Simple solution that should make everyone feel more welcome,” tweeted Andy South.

The move from British airways comes just days after the travel rule change in the UK.

The number of countries on the UK Covid travel list has been cut from 54 countries to just seven.

Countries including South Africa, Brazil and Mexico will come off the rest list tomorrow morning.

Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Haiti and the Dominican Republic all remain on the red list, which requires travellers to quarantine in an approved hotel at their cost for 10 full days.

The new rules also see the amber list being scrapped.

However, consumer group Which? has warned that these changes only reflect requirements for arriving back in the UK.

It said: “Travellers should be aware that they may still face restrictions on entry to many destinations, especially those under 18 who are not yet vaccinated.”

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