Do you want to know the language of an airline flight attendant? Your Guide to the Phonetic Alphabet

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As an airline flight attendant, you will be immersed in a new world of language that you cannot avoid or ignore. While the standard language of aviation around the world is English, it is the English phonetic alphabet that is unavoidable for those flying operationally.

While strange to some at first, it will quickly become familiar to you when you dive into it as an airline flight attendant.

But why do airlines use this language? Quite simply, the world is a small place when it comes to jet aircraft. In less than a day, you can cross literally dozens of countries and all with local pilots and air traffic controllers who have native accents of their mother tongue.

To avoid confusion with accents and to have clarity and precision of identification in airways around the world, the airline industry communicates with a system called the Phonetic Alphabet. The phonetic alphabet was developed in the mid-20th century so that soldiers of war could articulate messages over the radio to other soldiers in the heat of battle without misunderstanding due to poor reception and the noise of battle.

Basically the use of the phonetic alphabet sounds a word that begins with the letter that is meant. That way, letters like C and D, while sounding similar, can be correctly identified. Charlie is very different from Delta, for example. Then it’s just a matter of pronouncing the letters or spelling the word you need to communicate.

Operationally this is always used to identify aircraft and anything that needs some understanding. As a flight attendant, you will need to know the phonetic alphabet as you will be using and hearing it frequently at work. You’ll quickly find that it slips into your everyday language as a kind of shorthand for operational understanding with other crew members.

So what is the phonetic alphabet used by the airline industry?

A – Alpha, B – Bravo, C – Charlie, D – Delta, E – Echo, F – Foxtrot, G – Golf, H – Hotel, I – India, J – Juliet, K – Kilo, L – Lima, M – Mike, N – November, O – Oscar, P – Papa, Q – Quebec, R – Romeo, S – Sierra, T – Tango, U – Uniform, V – Victor, W – Whiskey, – X-ray, Y – Yankee , Z-zulu

Simply print the above and refer to it as needed. With a little practice you’ll learn the alphabet in no time. Then, as a flight attendant, you can easily apply the phonetic alphabet when and where it’s needed, automatically and almost without thinking.

The numbers also have their own pronunciation and more information on this for flight attendants is explained in detail in How to become a flight attendant available at FlightAttendantSecrets.com

E – Echo, N – November, J – Juliet, O – Oscar, Y – Yankee (Enjoy)

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