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Air China has recalled copies of its in-flight magazine after an international outcry over an article warning people about “areas mainly populated by Indians, Pakistanis and black people” in London.
The September issue of Wings of China, the essential read for anyone flying with the Chinese flag-carrier, contained pages of travel info about London and other British cities.
It was one section in particular, though, that caught CNBC producer Haze Fan’s eye on Tuesday.
In a section on the capital, the magazine insisted that “precautions are needed” in some of the more diverse corners of the city.
“Safety: London is generally a safe place to travel, however precautions are needed when entering areas mainly populated by Indians, Pakistanis and black people,” the advice read. “We advise tourists not to go out alone at night, and females always to be accompanied by another person when traveling.”
Social media users unanimously condemned the passage and started a petition calling for an apology.
British politicians also reacted with dismay, with the MPs Rosena Allin-Khan and Virendra Sharma writing to the Chinese ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, about the issue.
“I am shocked and appalled that even today some people would see it as acceptable to write such blatantly untrue and racist statements,” Mr Sharma, the Labour MP for Ealing Southall, said.
“Air China immediately removed this magazine from all flights and demanded that the publishers of Wings of China seriously learn from this lesson.”
Air China said Thursday it’s removed copies of the magazine, telling the Associated Press the issue used “inappropriate” language and that the article didn’t represent the airline’s views. Air China also forwarded an email from the magazine’s publisher apologizing to the carrier and saying that the fault lay with an “editing mistake.”
“After discovering this problem, Air China immediately removed this magazine from all flights and demanded that the publishers of Wings of China seriously learn from this lesson, strengthen their content review and avoid making similar mistakes,” the airline said.
In the apology to Air China, China Aviation Media Co. Ltd. said the article ran “counter to our original intention to promote the beautiful scenes of London.”
Air China North America also tweeted an apology, calling the passage “offensive language” before deleting the tweet. Mashable has reached out to Air China for further comment.
Earlier this year, a Chinese laundry detergent maker apologized “for the harm caused to the African people” over its TV advertisement that showed a black man being stuffed into a washing machine and coming out a fair-skinned Asian man.
About 270,000 Chinese visitors explored Britain in 2015, according to the Telegraph, a 46 percent increase from the previous year.