Chinese airline Hainan Airlines has unwittingly found itself embroiled in the ongoing Israel-Palestine debate, after accidentally replacing “Israel” with “Palestinian Territories” on its in-flight multimedia system.
As the plane from Beijing approached Israel capital Tel Aviv, Israeli passengers were shocked to see they were apparently landing in the Palestinian Territories as opposed to Israel. Infact, Israel did not exist on the airline’s map, which showed Syria, Cyprus and Lebanon alongside Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
“The flight was wonderful with great service,” one Israeli passenger, Lior Peleg, told Ynet news. Unfortunately, any positive sentiments were quick to turn for Peleg, once he looked at Hainan’s map of Israel-Palestine. “Much to my dismay and surprise, I realized that on the multimedia screens on the plane, the State of Israel was not there. There is a feeling that this is a blow to Israeli sovereignty as the destination of the plane is Tel Aviv.”
Contrary to the dismay expressed by Israeli passengers, pro-Palestinian tweeters took to the platform to congratulate China and Hainan airlines for a job well done:
And China knows Israel do not exist its Palestine foreverhttps://t.co/pHUr5RJFnj
— khüsh bãkhát baîğ (@khussho) November 1, 2016
@MiddleEastMnt @justmebeingme4 @HainanAirlines well done China!
— john carey (@owenpongo) November 1, 2016
However, Hainan attributed Israel’s absence on the map to a technical error as opposed to a political statement: “We thank you for contacting us and turning our attention to this regrettable technical mistake,” Hainan Airlines said in response to complaints by passengers. “The airline is working to fix the maps as soon as possible along with the external software supplier.”
This is not the first time that an airline has caused controversy by overlooking the existence of Israel and flying its passengers to Palestine. In August, Air Serbia found itself in hot water after a flight from Belgrade to Tel Aviv announced it was bound for Palestine, causing many Israeli passengers to leave the plane.
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