EasyJet mag pulped over Holocaust photo shoot

Budget airline EasyJet has pulped its latest in-flight magazine after receiving a barrage of complaints about photos showing models posing by Holocaust memorial sites in Berlin.

Easyjet removed all 300,000 copies of the magazine after passengers, many of them flying to Tel Aviv, said that they found the pictures inappropriate.

The article, 'A Quick Guide to the Chic Side of Berlin', was accompanied by an eight-page shoot of photos showing male and female models standing between the concrete boulders of the Field of Stelae, Berlin's large city centre tribute to the six million Jews who the Nazis sent to their deaths in concentration camps during the Second World War.

The text of the article began, "Ravaged by war and torn in two by conflicting ideologies, Berlin may not be a picture-perfect jewel... but it's a treasure trove for the culture vulture... no visit would be complete without exploring the testaments to the city's turbulent past."

There were also photos taken at Berlin's Jewish museum. The museum had given permission for a photo shoot to Ink, the London agency which publishes the magazine for EasyJet, but the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which has looked after architect Peter Eisenman's memorial since it opened in 2005, had not. Foundation director Uwe Neumarker told the New Statesman that it "grants permissions only to projects which are related to the memorial, the Holocaust or some aspect of commemoration."

Ink, which also produces magazines for Ryanair, BMI and Virgin Trains, says the shoot was intended to raise awareness. In a statement released on their website, it said: "from an educational perspective, it is of utmost importance that visitors to Berlin see the Jewish Museum... and Holocaust memorial."

An EasyJet spokeswoman told the Guardian: "We realised that to hold a fashion shoot in front of the memorial was inappropriate and insensitive, and we didn't wish to offend anyone. It's not quite clear why we didn't spot it earlier."

It is normal in consumer publishing for a client to read its magazine before giving the agency its sign-off. EasyJet has apologised for the incident and says it is reviewing its cooperation with Ink. ·