Oh dear. Not the best publicity for Air China and Star Alliance unfortunately. It was discovered today that Air China’s in-flight magazine includes a paragraph warning their passengers that when travelling to London they should take care and extra precautions when visiting areas “mainly populated by “Indians, Pakistanis and black people”. They also advise women to always be accompanied by someone else when travelling.
Air China operate two flights per day from Beijing to London Heathrow.
The comments were part of a feature on London in the monthly Wings Of China magazine. So far Air China hasn’t commented on the article, however Labour MP for Ealing Southall (which has a large Indian population), Virendra Sharma, said: “I am shocked and appalled that even today some people would see it as acceptable to write such blatantly untrue and racist statements”
“I have invited representatives of Air China to visit my constituency of Ealing Southall to see that a very multi-cultural area is safe, and would be of great value for those visiting London to see”
“I will await their response, and if an appropriate one is not forthcoming I shall feel forced to question whether Air China is a fit company to operate in the UK.”
Like every city there are parts of London you should avoid and parts you should stay vigilant in, but there are also parts of London that are a vital part of the culture of the city and well worth visiting, and some of these areas are populated by many Indians, Pakistanies, and black people. Brixton and Southall are just two of the areas worth visiting, and two areas where you’ll find really incredible and authentic international food. If you visit Southall, I highly recommend the little pots of spicy sweetcorn you can get from the street carts!
It will be interesting to see how Air China react to the outburst and whether the MP’s do take this further.
The Star Alliance Flyer #TSAF