French, but google translate works ok.
In a perfect world France and Germany would follow and remove these crazy requirements to have French and German LPC when visiting.
In a perfect world France and Germany would follow and remove these crazy requirements to have French and German LPC when visiting.
I’m not aware of a requirement to have German language proficiency when flying into Germany…yes some minor airfields do officially require it, but many don’t.
And reasonably with the UK on the way out of Europe, both French and German have a much better claim to be used in Europe than English, which will become a minority language only spoken by the Irish, while German is spoken by nearly 100 million people and thus about one quarter of the EU26 population, more than any other language.
MedEwok wrote:
I’m not aware of a requirement to have German language proficiency when flying into Germany…yes some minor airfields do officially require it, but many don’t.
Living close to both Germany and France I checked this with instructors and was surprised that a lot of airports in both countries and even some big ones in Germany do require radio telephony and LPC level 4-6. Some fellow pilots have been given fat fines for not having it (if I remember the number correctly it was 10k).
MedEwok wrote:
And reasonably with the UK on the way out of Europe, both French and German have a much better claim to be used in Europe than English, which will become a minority language only spoken by the Irish, while German is spoken by nearly 100 million people and thus about one quarter of the EU26 population, more than any other language.
We are not talking about the average person ordering apples in English in the EU but about pilots and ATC understanding each other and being able to fly around safely. Choosing one language would always put others at a disadvantage but having 20+ languages to fly with a small GA airplane around Europe is madness. And I think anyone incapable of learning English enough to fly should not fly at all.
It isn’t as black and white as the thread title suggests. English will become mandatory at airports with CTRs or FIZ (Samedan). At Lausanne, Bex and other uncontrolled fields the French will remain along with English.
But to complicate it even more, airports with CTR/FIZ close to a border are exempted from the rule. Considering how small Switzerland is, this is a bit of a joke. In Geneva, French will continue to be allowed AFAIK. In Sion (LSGS) on the other hand English will be mandatory (is it really so far from the border?).
I believe that politically it was discussed in the context of TMAs and the biggest airports (Zurich, Geneva, Basel), so there wasn’t much opposition. But this rule has become extremely complicated and now, for example, some “sailplane-weeks” in Samedan with German pilots are in danger, because few of them have the English language proficiency. Considering that even in Geneva French will continue to be allowed, this is just complete nonsense.
Disclaimer: I’m not 100% sure if I got the details right, however, I think it’s important to point out that it isn’t just “English for all”.
MedEwok wrote:
And reasonably with the UK on the way out of Europe, both French and German have a much better claim to be used in Europe than English, which will become a minority language only spoken by the Irish, while German is spoken by nearly 100 million people and thus about one quarter of the EU26 population, more than any other language.
The survey data reported in Special Eurobarometer 386 “Europeans and their Languages” (pdf link) suggests English will still be the most widely understood language in EU after a UK withdrawal.
some big ones in Germany do require radio telephony and LPC level 4-6. Some fellow pilots have been given fat fines for not having it (if I remember the number correctly it was 10k).
10000€ fine for not having a german language proficiency certificate, but perfectly speaking and understanding english? At a large airport? Urban legend.
MedEwok wrote:
And reasonably with the UK on the way out of Europe, both French and German have a much better claim to be used in Europe than English, which will become a minority language only spoken by the Irish, while German is spoken by nearly 100 million people and thus about one quarter of the EU26 population, more than any other language.
As the saying goes: Germany, too big for Europe, too small for the world. At least according to Henry Kissinger 
Vladimir wrote:
I think anyone incapable of learning English enough to fly should not fly at all.
I’ve met some pretty enthusiastic pilots (e.g. in Italy) who don’t speak more than a few a words of English and seem to fly quite well. It was a pleasure for me to be accepted into their world for a couple of days.
Title edited.
BTW, FWIW, just to correct a small point, Medewok, the UK is not leaving Europe. That would require significant modifications to the earth’s crust
Why is it always the pilots from Switzerland who keep spreading this misinformation that airfields in Germany/France/Italy/… require LP for that language? You can’t even get this in your license in most countries and there is no such requirement laid out anywhere.
Yes you need to speak German/French/Italian/… at some airfields, but that has been the case for ages.
