Social media unimpressed by Air China's racist 'guide' to Indians, Pakistanis, Blacks

One of China’s major airlines and flag carrier Air China has come under fire in Britain for a racist article in its in-flight magazine. The Wings of China magazine offered some "Tips from Air China" in an article aimed at helping tourists travelling to London."London is generally a safe place to travel, however precautions are needed when entering areas mainly populated by Indians, Pakistanis and black people," is an excerpt from the contentious piece. The issue came into the spotlight when Haze Fan, a producer at CNBC, tweeted a photo of this section in the Mandarin-English magazine article.In another absurd development, Air China’s Twitter handle @AirChinaNA had tweeted an apology for the article and consequently deleted the apology. Air China has now released an apology statement again which Fan has tweeted.The magazine team has also released an apology to Air China for their ‘editorial mistakes’. They deem the reactions of the media and readers as misinterpretations and fail to apologise the readers in question.Virendra Sharma, Labour MP for Ealing Southall, United Kingdom has been one of the most vocal critics of this issue. He has written to China's ambassador to Britain, "Today I have written in the strongest possible terms to His Excellency Mr Liu Xiaoming, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China, to raise my concerns about reports of racism in their inflight magazine."Social media has naturally been brimming with indignation over Air China’s flippant treatment of the issue. Celebrities and members of the ethnic communities alike gave a piece of their mind to the airline.The advice is at odds with the London promoted by its Mayor Sadiq Khan, a British national with Pakistani parents, who in July launched a #LondonisOpen campaign and frequently blogs about his favorite places to eat and drink in his South London Indian-Pakistani neighbourhood of Tooting.With inputs from AP and PTI.