Felat Bozarslan / Diyarbakır, Jan 27 () - Ankara administrative court rejected a mandate in a bid to apply flight announcements and warnings in Kurdish language, along with Turkish, in flights through Diyarbakır Airport.
Diyarbakır Bar Lawyer Mahsuni Karaman has appealed in 2012 to Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, General Directorate of Civil Aviation and General Directorate of State Airports Authority and demanded all announcements, warnings and alarms to be made in Kurdish as well. This appeal included flights from Diyarbakır to other provinces, as well as flights landing to Diyarbakır.
After the rejection, Karaman filed a claim against General Directorate of State Airports Authority , and urged that the implementation should be in a wider perspective to ease communication, daily life and business of locals.
Karaman also stressed that international regulations included such implementations and demanded annulment of the rejection.
However, the Ankara court disclaimed the argument, defending international texts and Flight Information, Announcement and Consultancy Services Operation Instructions required announcements to be in English or in any other official languages. “Kurdish is not amongst languages that can be used in civil aviation” and the decision is “in compliance with law” the court decision said.
Making the announcement in a language which was “not defined as official language” in international regulations would “create chaos” it said.
According to the justification of the decision, within the Constitution with respect to International Civil Aviation Agreement signed by Turkey in 1945 , English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese are listed as official languages in civil aviation.
“This situation could not be forces to be changes, through court decision” urged the court.
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