- An advertisement featuring an Air India aircraft on Thursday is in the spotlight.
- Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London, crashed shortly after take off in Ahmedabad.
- The ad featured Air India plane emerging from a building facade - a visual that echoed the real-life tragedy.
A front-page newspaper advertisement featuring an Air India aircraft on Thursday is in the spotlight after Flight AI171, operated by the same airline, crashed hours later.
On the afternoon of June 12, Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner, bound for London Gatwick, crashed moments after taking off from Ahmedabad. Of the 242 people on board, only one passenger survived.
That morning, the Mid-Day newspaper, also popular in Gujarat, featured a large advertisement on its front page promoting KidZania's upcoming Father's Day weekend event. KidZania, an indoor miniature city designed for children aged 4-16, allows kids to role-play real-world professions like pilots, doctors, chefs, and engineers.
The ad featured a stylised cartoon cityscape, with a prominently branded Air India aircraft emerging from a building facade - a visual that eerily echoed the real-life tragedy in which the Dreamliner crashed into the Ahmedabad Medical College hostel, killing five people.
Following the real-life disaster that unfolded only hours later, that playful image has taken on a chilling tone.
Was the ad a "Simpson's prediction"? A reference to the long-running animated series known for its uncanny real-life parallels. This was no mysterious foresight but a "crazy coincidence", the ad company says.
In reality, the image traces back to a formal collaboration between Air India and KidZania, launched last year. The company clarified to NDTV that the aircraft image is a standard design used across all KidZania centres worldwide to represent its Aviation Academy, created in partnership with airlines like Air India.
In July 2024, Air India wrote on X, "Dreams take off here! A new chapter in aviation excellence begins with the grand launch of the Air India Aviation Academy at @KidZaniaIndia in Delhi-NCR. Whether navigating a flight simulator or learning about airport operations, KidZania's Air India Aviation Academy is where dreams of flying begin. Have you embarked on your aviation adventure yet?"
The tweet included a promotional video that showed a life-size model of an Air India aircraft emerging from a KidZania building, the same visual that appears to have been adapted in cartoon form for the June 12 print ad.
Expressing anguish over the tragic crash, KidZania India said it stood in solidarity with the families grieving their own. "Our heartfelt condolences are with all affected," they said in a statement to NDTV.
"Regarding the advertisement published in Mid-Day, we clarify that the aircraft image is a globally recognised architectural element across KidZania(s) worldwide and represents our Aviation Academy - an educational initiative in partnership with leading airlines, including Air India. The advertisement was submitted well before the unfortunate event, as part of a pre-planned summer campaign. We remain sensitive to this tragedy and have paused any further promotion of the said visual," they added.
The Air India Aviation Academy at KidZania's locations in Noida and Mumbai was developed to introduce children to the world of aviation through hands-on experiences. The initiative allowed kids to explore flight operations, simulate aircraft controls, and understand airport functions, all in a safe, miniature learning environment.
