Air Canada has apologized after a controversial in-flight map displayed Israel as ‘Palestinian territories.’
The image shared on X that sparked outrage showed a passenger’s screen displaying the in-flight map on a flight from Vancouver to Toronto on Monday.
The world map was zoomed in and displayed the name ‘Palestinian Territories’ instead of Israel.
The move sparked outrage online, as many online users called the airline out for ‘erasing Israel.’
‘Iran and Hamas want to erase Israel, but I expected better from @AirCanada,’ the user wrote. ‘This map was spotted on an Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Toronto. Disgraceful.’
Another said: ‘This is very concerning @aircanada flights map on its IFE screens this morning flight between Vancouver & Toronto… displayed Israel wiped off the map. This is surely antisemitism. I’m speechless.’
‘Canada is trying really, really hard to go as woke as possible,’ one wrote.
‘Very disheartening. I am sure that Air Canada has some Antisemitism-charged employees that should be fired,’ another wrote.
The image shared on X that sparked outrage showed a passenger’s screen displaying the in-flight map on a flight from Vancouver to Toronto on Monday. The world map was zoomed in and displayed the name ‘Palestinian Territories’ instead of Israel
‘It was brought to the attention of Air Canada that the interactive map on its Boeing 737 fleet did not consistently portray certain Middle Eastern boundaries, including those of the State of Israel, at all amplification levels,’ Air Canada and Thales said the issue had been ‘resolved’ in a joint statement to DailyMail.com
Users on X commented in outrage about Air Canada’s IFE system in-flight map display error
Air Canada responded to one post on X and said: ‘Air Canada has been made aware of a display issue with the interactive map on the IFE systems of its B737 aircraft.
‘The issue has affected other carriers using the same system and we are working with the third-party provider on a remedy.’
The IFE had been produced by French aerospace group Thales, while the map had been produced by another external company.
Air Canada and Thales said the issue had been ‘resolved’ in a joint statement to DailyMail.com.
‘It was brought to the attention of Air Canada that the interactive map on its Boeing 737 fleet did not consistently portray certain Middle Eastern boundaries, including those of the State of Israel, at all amplification levels,’ the statement said.
‘Air Canada’s policy in general is to display only city names on the maps in its aircraft, and the configuration on this particular system was not compliant with this policy.’
The statement added that the map function was immediately disabled on the aircraft and the airline had been working with Thales and the map provider to reprogram the planes.
An upgraded version of the map is set to be installed on the fleet on March 14.
Air Canada responded to one post on X and said: ‘Air Canada has been made aware of a display issue with the interactive map on the IFE systems of its B737 aircraft. ‘The issue has affected other carriers using the same system and we are working with the third-party provider on a remedy’
Last year, a similar incident occurred on a JetBlue flight, who decided after ‘careful review’ to switch to a new vendor
‘Air Canada and Thales apologize for the unease created by this situation,’ the statement concluded.
In a separate statement, Thales said they were ‘working closely with the airline and the involved third-party to remediate this regrettable issue as soon as possible.’
Air Canada is set to resume flights to Israel in June, after suspending them due to the security situation, National Post reported.
Last year, a similar incident occurred on a JetBlue flight, who decided after ‘careful review’ to switch to a new vendor.
Air Canada and Thales did not immediately respond to the DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
