bmi’s London-Tel Aviv flight miss Israeli cities on electronic map

Most cities in Israel did not find a place on the electronic maps displayed to passengers on two Airbus A320 aircraft of bmi airline that flew from London to Tel Aviv on April 30, 2009.  Passengers on the two Airbus A320 aircraft, instead of viewing Tel Aviv or other Israeli cities on the electronic screens, could only see the city of Haifa, spelled ‘Khefa’ – which was the Arab name of the city before 1948.

bmi (British Midland Airways Limited), based in Castle Donington, England, the United Kingdom, operates flights from London to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv twice daily.

The airline, in a statement, apologised for the omission of Israeli cities on the electronic maps on two of its aircraft and denied that there was any “political agenda” behind the exclusion of the cities.

The two Airbus A320 aircraft in question were acquired from British Mediterranean Airways (BMED), an airline that is now defunct.

BMED used to offer services to many Arab countries in the Middle East, the newspaper The Jerusalem Post quoted a spokesman of bmi as saying.

British Mediterranean Airways, formerly a franchise of British Airways, was absorbed into bmi in October 2007.

BMED had operated services primarily to the Middle East, especially to Amman, Beirut and Damascus, but not to Israel.

The maps on the two Airbus A320 aircraft that flew from London to Tel Aviv, the airline explained in the statement, were “tailored to the airline’s predominantly Muslim passengers, and also highlighted Islam’s holy sites, including Mecca.”

bmi airline had asked for the map to be removed after it acquired the aircraft from British Mediterranean Airways, but the map stayed unchanged because of a “technical mistake,” according to the statement.

bmi said it would provide new maps and, in the meantime, the airline would use different aircraft its flights from London to Tel Aviv.

The new maps – which will display Israel and Tel Aviv – will appear on screens within two weeks, bmi added.

bmi airline, which operates services to destinations in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, had recently sacked its flight attendant Lisa Ashton for having refused to fly to Saudi Arabia.

bmi had asked Lisa Ashton to wear an abaya, a black robe which covers everything except the face, feet and hand, in public places in Saudi Arabia. She was also told to walk behind her male colleagues, irrespective of rank.

Lisa Ashton, a practicing Christian, sued bmi for “unfair dismissal” at an employment tribunal in the United Kingdom earlier in 2009, but the court dismissed her case on the ground that the airline was “justified in imposing on its staff the rules of a different culture.”