Chinese carrier apologises for 'racist' slur

AIR China has moved to distance itself from “inappropriate’’ comments in an in-flight magazine slammed as racist.

The airline says it has ordered the removal of the magazine from its aircraft after a CNBC reporter noticed a travel tip advising visitors to London to take precautions when entering areas “mainly populated by Indians, Pakistanis and black people’'.

“We advise tourists not to go out alone at night, and females always to be accompanied by another person when traveling," the tip said.

The entry in the September issue of The Wings of China magazine caused a furore in Britain and prompted demands for an apology.

"I am shocked and appalled that even today some people would see it as acceptable to write such blatantly untrue and racist statements," London-based MP Virendra Sharma told CNN.

Air China said in a statement that Wings of China was one of almost 100 magazines distributed in its planes.

“These publications are only supplementary reading materials and none of them represents the view of Air China,’’ it said. “The safety tips seen in the article “London, City of Hat Tricks’’ on the September issue of Wings of China are inappropriate.’’

The airline said it had also demanded the Wings of China editorial team “learn the lesson, enhance content security so as to avoid similar issues from happening again.’’

As an international airline with routes covering six continents, Air China “always highly respects the cultures and traditions or the people from different ethnicities in the world,’’ it said.

The incident was deemed serious enough to warrant involvement by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which said it hoped Air China would properly handle the situation.

"I want to emphasise the position of the Chinese government," ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying  told a regular press briefing. "We always hold that all races are equal and firmly oppose all forms of racial discrimination."