British Airways has made a big change to in-flight announcements.
The airline has advised pilots and cabin crew to stop referring to passengers as “ladies and gentlemen” in onboard announcements, instead telling them to replace them with gender-neutral terms.
The airline has decided to abandon the greeting in an attempt “to ensure that all our customers feel welcome when travelling with us” and celebrate “diversity and inclusion”, The Mirror reports.
The move away from gender-specific to gender-neutral language brings the airline’s announcements in line with those made in airports, in a move that has been praised by many online.
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BA’s recent decision is believed to have been partly driven by a change in its customers, according to The Telegraph.
A BA spokesperson said: “We celebrate diversity and inclusion and we're committed to ensuring that all our customers feel welcome when travelling with us.”
The airline follows a number of other aviation companies to introduce more inclusive language.
Last month, Air Malta announced it would scrap phrases such as “welcome, ladies and gentlemen” in favour of language such as “welcome, all passengers.”
Staff are now being encouraged to refer to passengers as “guests” and other more universal terms in a bid to help trans, non-binary and intersex people feel comfortable, the airline said in a statement.
Transport for London (TfL) was one of the first major travel companies to ditch the phrase “ladies and gentlemen” in 2017 when it looked to change in favour of more inclusive greetings.
The decision came after activists, including those from the LGBT charity Stonewall, campaigned for the change, claiming that although "ladies and gentlemen" was "polite", it was "outdated" and "belonged to yesterday”.
Many people have praised the move by BA online, with one Twitter user calling it a “step in the right direction.”
Another praised the move by saying “I am very happy with ‘good afternoon, everyone'. It’s much friendlier and makes everyone feel comfortable.”
