Oman Air Drops 'Persian Gulf' Maps

National carrier Oman Air has disabled a map display on some of its aircraft that referred to the Persian Gulf, calling them “inaccurate translations”.

Social media posts were critical of the airline, saying the label should be changed. The airline responded by turning off the maps.

The inflight entertainment system maps on some Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft have changed as a new provider introduced more detailed flight maps, the airline said.

Additionally, 787s leased from Kenya Airways equipped with Panasonic IFE systems “show the Persian Gulf instead of Arabian Gulf”, Oman Air said in a statement.

Oman Air uses inflight entertainment systems from Thales on its own aircraft.

Panasonic is working on a software update to correct the issue, the flag carrier said. It hopes the changes will be made and uploaded to the aircraft over the next day or so.