Air Canada apologizes for replacing Israel with the name ‘Palestinian territories’ on its planes’ maps

By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2025-03-15 19:20:08 | Updated at 2025-03-16 01:36:50 6 hours ago

This slight didn’t fly under the radar.

Air Canada was forced to apologize after it was discovered that some of its planes did not show Israel as a state on maps featured as part of their in-flight entertainment systems.

The carrier’s Boeing 737 MAX fleet had replaced Israel with the name “Palestinian territories” amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, according to CNN.

A passenger first noticed the discrepancy and alerted the company, which said in a statement that it was found on 40 of its aircrafts.

Air Canada’s in-flight entertainment systems were made by the French aerospace group Thales, but the map was created by another company, which has yet to be disclosed.

An Air Canada Boeing 787-8 on the taxiway at Heathrow Airport
Air Canada’s Boeing 737 MAX fleet had Israel replaced with the name “Palestinian territories.” PA Images via Getty Images

On Thursday, both Air Canada and Thales issued a joint statement to CNN, both apologizing and promising the situation had been resolved.

“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.

Israel and Palestine are seen upside down on the public art sculptureThe maps were deactivated and then replaced. In Pictures via Getty Images

“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 planes had their map function immediately disabled and a revised map was already installed by Friday.

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