Air Canada to drop 'ladies and gentlemen' from flight announcement

In an effort to be more gender-neutral, Air Canda is making a major change to its formal greeting procedure.

Over the weekend, the airline announced it is doing away with part of its in-flight announcement that only acknowledges 'ladies and gentlemen' and instead opting to address passengers as 'everybody.'

"The change will be reflected in the transmission of the Onboard Announcement Manual as part of our commitment to respect gender identity, diversity and inclusion," a spokesperson for the company said in an email. "We work hard to make sure all employees feel like valued members of the Air Canada family, while ensuring our customers are comfortable and respected when they choose to travel with us," they continued.

The new greetings will also be updated in French. Flight attendants will now use 'tout le monde.'

Air Canada's new policy comes four months after the Canadian government began to allow citizens to select non-binary 'X,' rather than male or female as their gender identity, on their passports.