Berlin:
Europe’s biggest airline group Lufthansa mentioned Tuesday it was retiring “ladies and gentlemen” as an on-board greeting in favour of gender-neutral options.
A spokesman for the German firm told AFP the move was intended to make all passengers on board really feel welcome, like these who do not recognize as male or female.
“Crews are being instructed to choose a greeting that includes all passengers,” he mentioned, adding that “dear guests” or a basic “good morning/good evening” would be employed as an alternative.
The new policy, which will be phased in steadily, applies to German flag carrier Lufthansa as properly as the group’s Swiss, Austrian, Brussels and Eurowings airlines.
The firm mentioned it was responding to a “discussion that is rightly being held in society” about non-binary gender identification and a need “to value all guests on board”.
Germany has joined the international debate about more inclusive language to take into account diverse gender identities and an increasingly multicultural society.
In current days, key cities like Berlin, Munich and Hamburg mentioned that their transport networks would cease utilizing the word “Schwarzfahren” (black riding) to describe travel with out a ticket in response to complaints the word had a racist taint.
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