Outcry over Air China's 'racist' guide to London

A Chinese airline is facing criticism after its inflight magazine warned visitors about ethnic minority areas in London.

In the current edition of Wings of China, Air China passengers are told: "London is generally a safe place to travel, [sic] however precautions are needed when entering areas mainly populated by Indians, Pakistanis and black people."

The feature continues: "We advise tourists not to go out alone at night and females always to be accompanied by another person when travelling."

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The warning came to widespread attention when a Chinese passenger, Haze Fan, tweeted a picture of it to London Mayor Sadiq Khan. She said her Londoner fiancé felt the description was "rather insulting".

Politicians are calling for an apology and for the passage to be deleted. Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour MP for Tooting, which has one of the largest Indian and Pakistani populations in the capital, said: "I think that it is offensive to Londoners and I would like to see it removed."

Virendra Sharma, Labour MP for Ealing Southall, where 39 per cent of the population is Asian, wrote to Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the UK, to complain about "blatant racism" from the airline.

He said: "I am shocked and appalled that even today some people would see it as acceptable to write such blatantly untrue and racist statements."

Lambeth and Southwark London assembly member Florence Eshalomi said "you couldn't make up" the "outdated and near-on racist views" the magazine expressed.

The London Evening Standard says Air China failed to respond to requests for comment.