Air Canada in-flight map relabels Israel as ‘Palestinian Territories’, calls it ‘display issue’

Passengers on an Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Toronto, on Monday (Mar 10), found out that Israel had been erased from the in-flight interactive map and replaced by "Palestinian Territories".

Responding to this, the Canadian flag carrier released a statement saying that the relabeling was because of a “display issue.”

“Air Canada has been made aware of a display issue with the interactive map on the IFE systems of its B737 aircraft,” it said in a reply on X to an image shared by a passenger of the altered in-flight map.

A passenger snapped this photo on an Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Toronto today, showing that the airline's map no longer includes Israel@AirCanada Care To Explain? pic.twitter.com/wqrmPgBB4Y

“The issue has affected other carriers using the same system and we are working with the third-party provider on a remedy,” the statement added.

Air Canada has been made aware of a display issue with the interactive map on the IFE systems of its B737 aircraft. The issue has affected other carriers using the same system and we are working with the third-party provider on a remedy.

In a similar incident last September, JetBlue passengers discovered that Israel had been removed from the in-flight interactive map. The airline attributed the change to a third-party map provider and, following a review, decided to switch to a new map vendor.

Meanwhile, Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen, on Sunday (Mar 9), said that he had instructed the Israel Electric Corporation to immediately cut off the supply of electricity to Gaza.

The move came a week after Israel blocked aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.

"I have just signed the order to stop supplying electricity immediately to the Gaza Strip," Cohen said in a video statement.

"We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer in Gaza the day after" the war, he added.

Israel blocked aid from entering Gaza on Sunday (Mar 2), as the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire in the region came to an end.

The ceasefire had enabled the entry of vital items like food, shelter and medical assistance after over 15 months of fighting.

The Palestinian militant group handed over 25 living hostages, under the first phase of the ceasefire deal, and eight bodies in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.