Onboard announcement in Tulu in Mumbai to Mangaluru Indigo flight, passengers delighted

A couple of days ago, the Tulu language received some attention owing to an Indigo pilot who elected to give an announcement in Tulu onboard an aircraft.

On board flight 6E 6051 on December 24, First Officer Pradeep Padmashali surprised passengers. The plane was flying from Mumbai to Mangaluru at the time. The news arrived just as the plane was about to leave Mumbai at 6.56 p.m.

Padmashali greeted passengers onboard with a 26-second announcement and wished them a pleasant ride during the hour-and-five-minute flight. He then shifted to English, remarking that the previous brief announcement had been made in his mother tongue, Tulu.

The video footage went viral on social media thanks to an anonymous user. “We normally hear pilots delivering announcements in Hindi and English,” he said, expressing his delight after hearing an announcement in Tulu. It was wonderful to hear something in Tulu.”

Tulu is notable for its oral literature and is mostly spoken in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. In the last two decades, efforts have been made to popularise the language.

On Indian flights, announcements are usually provided in both English and Hindi. However, an increasing number of airlines are using regional languages to communicate with passengers onboard.