Are you among those people who expect their cabin crew to speak to them in Maltese on a flight? If you are, then this could be delightful news for you because a new phrasebook has been published to help foreign airport staff and cabin crew address passengers in Maltese, even if they do not know the language.
The booklet, published by the Maltese Department at the University of Malta, provides cabin crew and ground staff with a list of essential Maltese vocabulary to enhance their communication with passengers.
Il-Vjaġġ it-Tajjeb – Essential Maltese for ground and cabin crew – covers all travel scenarios from security protocols at the airport to inflight tea and coffee orders.
The book comes just a few months after Malta’s new national airline landed in hot water over its language requirements for staff.
Just as it took off for the first time last April, KM Malta Airlines confirmed it dropped the Maltese language as a requirement for its staff because it expects “more than 80 per cent” of its customers to be foreign.
Its predecessor flag carrier – Air Malta – required its cabin crew to speak and write both Maltese and English.
Divided into eight sections, the booklet covers crucial aspects of cabin and ground crew duties to facilitate communication during check-in and boarding
The decision prompted strident criticism from sections of the public and from the Nationalist Party, which said it was “shameful” for a national carrier to not require in-flight staff to speak the country’s national language.
The day after, in a reaction to the controversy, the prime minister said he instructed the airline to have Maltese-speaking crew on board flights, after which the airline confirmed it would be ensuring at least one cabin crew member on each flight speaks Maltese.
Divided into eight sections, the booklet covers crucial aspects of cabin and ground crew duties to facilitate communication during check-in and boarding. It also provides essential phrases for safety briefings, announcements, passenger interaction and meal options and beverages.
The booklet helps staff reply to passenger enquiries and concerns and includes frequently used expressions like greetings, apologies and directions, among others.
The booklet goes beyond a simple list of words. There is also a companion website (www.malti.mt/learnmaltese) offering sound clips for each phrase, to help with pronunciation.
The resource is part of a series developed by the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta to facilitate language learning for various professionals as well as the public.