No requirement to speak English in exit row?
Currently aboard the delayed BA848 LHR-ZAG and we are in exit row 12 on this A320. The people in front of us are an elderly Croatian couple who looked blankly at the flight attendant while she was explaining the exit row protocol; then when she asked them if they spoke English the lady clearly said No. The attendant then asked them if they would be happy to move to another row, which they also didn’t understand. So she has left them in the row.
what is the protocol here? In the US the first thing they ask if you are in an exit row is Do you speak English? And why did they bother having an automated alert check at the gate about exit row seats if it doesn’t catch people who can’t speak English and so presumably can’t follow the crew’s instructions in an emergency?
#confused
Ps the Captain apologised for the delay with a litany of excuses blaming third parties. The flight had arrived 15 minutes late from MRS but couldn’t get on its stand as a Delta (name-checked) plane was still blocking it. Then the inbound had 15 wheelchair passengers who needed to be disembarked by the “airport staff”. He specifically pointed out that both issues were because “the company” did not have control of facilities at t3, which I thought was a little unprofessional.