Air Canada has apologized after it emerged that some of its fleet displayed maps that appeared to have erased Israel.
The carrier’s Boeing 737 MAX fleet were found to have moving maps — part of the in flight entertainment (IFE) system — that did not show Israel as a state, but replaced it with the name “Palestinian territories.” The maps have been deactivated while they are updated.
The discrepancy was first noticed by a passenger who flagged it to the company. Air Canada said in a statement that it was found on 40 of its Boeing 737 aircraft. According to the airline’s website, there are 43 737 MAX twinjets in the fleet of more than 350 total aircraft.
The IFE in question had been produced by French aerospace group Thales, while the map itself had been produced for Thales by an external company, which has not been named.
Air Canada and Thales said in a joint statement, shared with CNN on Thursday, that the issue had been “resolved.”
The issue was on in flight entertainment provided by Thales, which had commissioned the maps from a third party. – Ted Shaffrey/AP
“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. “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 map function was immediately disabled on the aircraft, it added, and the airline has been working with Thales and the map provider to reprogram the planes. A rectified map will be installed on the fleet from March 14.
“Air Canada and Thales apologize for the unease created by this situation,” it concluded.
Thales added in a separate statement that the map had been provided by a third party.
“Thales is working closely with the airline and the involved third-party to remediate this regrettable issue as soon possible,” they said.
It’s not the first time the issue has raised its head in aviation.
In 2024, JetBlue apologized after a similar issue with its moving map. The airline said it was switching to another moving map provider, and had asked the old one to “adjust [the map] so that it aligns with the US government’s map guidance for the region.” British Airways had a similar incident in 2013.
In 2018, following a similar incident, SWISS confirmed that its policy is to turn off maps entirely when coming in to land at Tel Aviv.
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