Claim:
On JetBlue Airlines' in-flight mapping system, Israel's borders were inaccurate and the area was shown under the label "Palestinian Territories."
Rating:
True ( About this rating? )
In early September 2024, reports emerged that JetBlue Airlines had displayed an inaccurate in-flight map that gave the false impression much of Israel was part of the "Palestinian Territories." An Israeli news outlet interviewed the passenger who first noticed the issue and published a photo of the JetBlue map showing the name "Palestinian Territories" over a large section of Israel . Following this report, several social media accounts amplified the news of the map mishap, sparking backlash against the airline.
The reports of the mislabeled in-flight map were true, and as a result of the viral nature of the claim, JetBlue issued a public apology.
Israeli news outlet N12 broke the story on Sept. 3, 2024. According to our translation of the Hebrew article, Hodia Kenfo, an Israeli student studying in the U.S., was discussing Israel with the passenger next to her during a flight from Miami to San Diego. Kenfo explained to N12:
"It happens a lot that the word Israel creates a discourse, and while we were talking I wanted to show him where Israel is located on the map on the screens on the plane. When I saw the map I was amazed.
[…]
"It was written 'Territory of Palestine' in an inscription significantly larger than the word Israel, and in such a location that it literally spread throughout the entire territory of the State of Israel."
Several social media posts shared the news about the incorrect map, including one Instagram post that linked to a story published by Jerusalem Post on Sept. 4 and had receiving more than 11,000 likes, as of this writing:
(wearetov/Instagram)
Many social media users, especially those with ties to Israel, voiced their discontent, questioning how such an error could occur on an international airline (although JetBlue does not fly to Israel ). Some speculated about political bias, with one commenter writing , " Revisionist history taking place in real time. wtf?" Another responded , "Maybe jet blue can fly all the freedom fighters to gaza. They are looking to immerse themselves in the culture there. Fill the planes. Goodbye and good luck !"
Additional Details on the Map Error
The map in question placed the label "Palestinian Territories" between the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, while the name "Israel" appeared farther north on the map, creating the false impression that parts of Israel and western Jordan fell under the jurisdiction of the "Palestin ian Territories." The map also failed to clearly show the borders of Gaza or the West Bank, leaving the region's geographic representation unclear.
Additionally, the Golan Heights, located on Israel's northern border, was included within Syria's borders on the map. The Golan Heights — a strategic plateau controlled by Israel since its capture from Syria in 1967 during the Six-Day War — is widely recognized as contested territory between Israel and Syria.
"It's really, really annoying and frustrating to see this after the year we've had," Kenfo told N12.
JetBlue's Response
As a result of the viral backlash, JetBlue responded to the public criticism, reiterating that the map was not an accurate representation of the region and reaffirming its commitment to making the necessary adjustments. The airline also said it intended to switch to a new map vendor to prevent future error. In a statement provided to Snopes, the airline said:
The flight tracker app is provided to JetBlue by our inflight entertainment content provider who, in turn, licenses it from a third-party vendor. After a careful review, we have decided to switch to a new map vendor.
It's core to our mission and values that our customers feel welcome and safe onboard, and we're sorry for the concern this has caused. No one on the JetBlue team was involved with drawing or labeling the map of the region and we were not previously aware of the issue.
While our content provider works on transitioning to the new vendor, we have also asked the current vendor to adjust our onboard map so that it aligns with the U.S. government's map guidance for the region.
We're working to make these changes as quickly as possible, and the providers tell us it will likely take a couple weeks of the first set of changes to be loaded on the aircraft systems across our fleet.
Several sources, including the Runway Girl global collective of aviation journalists and airline industry travel blog Live and Let's Fly , suggested that global technology and aerospace company Thales was the third-party content provider responsible for JetBlue's in-flight mapping system, which was in turn licensed from technology company GeoFusion . However, JetBlue did not publicly disclose either company as the map provider. We reached out to Thales and GeoFusion for comment and will update this report if they respond.
The claim that JetBlue Airlines' in-flight map created the false impression that parts of Israel were in the "Palestinian Territories" is true. The airline acknowledged the error, apologized for it and attributed the mistake to a third-party vendor.
Snopes has previously fact-checked claims about airlines, including the true story of flights transporting unaccompanied immigrant children to detention facilities, and the false claim that Delta Air Lines gave members of Planned Parenthood discounted rates .
Sources:
Airline Entertainment International . UKIP Media & Events Ltd, 2013, https://s44875.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/archive-issues/airline-entertainment-2013.pdf .
corpcomm@jetblue.com. "JetBlue Elevates Seamless Living in the Sky with Blueprint by JetBlue TM : A Personalized Inflight Experience." JetBlue , JetBlue, 24 Apr. 2024, https://news.jetblue.com/latest-news/press-release-details/2024/JetBlue-Elevates-Seamless-Living-in-the-Sky-with-Blueprint-by-JetBlue-A-Personalized-Inflight-Experience/default.aspx .
"Customers." GeoFusion , https://www.geofusion.com/customers . Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
Dan. "[JetBlue Will Switch Map Vendors] JetBlue Responds To Israel Map Criticism." DansDeals.Com , 9 Sept. 2024, https://www.dansdeals.com/more/news/airline-news/jetblue-responds-israel-map-criticism/ .
Edelson, Daniel, and New York. "JetBlue Issues Apology after Calling Israel 'Palestinian Territories' on Map." Ynetnews , 8 Sept. 2024. www.ynetnews.com , https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/bjgp0065hc .
Editor, COLlive. "JetBlue Apologizes For Calling Israel 'Palestinian Territories' on Map." COLlive , 9 Sept. 2024, https://collive.com/jetblue-apologizes-after-calling-israel-palestinian-territories-on-map/ .
Instagram . https://www.instagram.com/community.news/reel/C_hK8MLJGz-/ . Accessed 11 Sept. 2024.
--- . https://www.instagram.com/let_my_people_know/p/C_hDKHqpDDM/?hl=en . Accessed 11 Sept. 2024.
--- . https://www.instagram.com/p/C_gTK0vPjeX/ . Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
JetBlue . https://www.jetblue.com/flying-with-us/our-planes . Accessed 11 Sept. 2024.
--- . https://www.jetblue.com/route-map . Accessed 11 Sept. 2024.
--- . https://www.jetblue.com/destinations?source=P%7CRetail%7CGoogleSearch%7CBR%7C2024Q3&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwooq3BhB3EiwAYqYoEkHJ8zVr--UrfwOEf8lSqnwL0QmZSkVx-vgKa0skoAp2IcOhJVzK7hoCHukQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds . Accessed 12 Sept. 2024.
"JetBlue Airways Changes Israel's Borders and Name to 'Palestinian Territories.'" The Jerusalem Post | JPost.Com , 4 Sept. 2024, https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-818656 .
"---." The Jerusalem Post | JPost.Com , 4 Sept. 2024, https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-818656 .
"JetBlue Airways' in-Flight Map Ignites Concerns over Bias against Israel." All Israel News , Sept. 2024, https://allisrael.com/jetblue-airways-in-flight-map-ignites-concerns-over-bias-against-israel .
JetBlue Apologizes After Israel Is Labeled "Palestinian Territories" In Onboard Maps . 9 Sept. 2024, https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2313117/jetblue-apologizes-after-israel-is-labeled-palestinian-territories-in-onboard-maps.html .
"JetBlue Apologizes for In-Flight Map's 'Palestinian Territories' Label Covering Israel." All Israel News , Sept. 2024, https://allisrael.com/jetblue-apologizes-for-in-flight-map-s-palestinian-territories-label-covering-israel .
"---." All Israel News , Sept. 2024, https://allisrael.com/jetblue-apologizes-for-in-flight-map-s-palestinian-territories-label-covering-israel .
"JetBlue Apologizes for Labeling Israel as 'Palestinian Territories' on Map." Matzav.Com , Matzav.com, 9 Sept. 2024, https://matzav.com/jetblue-apologizes-for-labeling-israel-as-palestinian-territories-on-map/ .
Kirby, Mary. "JetBlue IFE on New A321neo Offers Greatly Improved PaxEx over LiveTV." Runway Girl , 25 Sept. 2019, https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2019/09/jetblue-ife-on-new-a321neo-offers-greatly-improved-paxex-over-livetv/ .
Klint, Matthew. "JetBlue Apologizes For Palestine Map Controversy, Fires Inflight Map Vendor." Live and Let's Fly , 9 Sept. 2024, https://liveandletsfly.com/jetblue-palestinian-territories-map/ .
Miller, Seth. "Thales FlytEDGE Delivers a New Paradigm for In-Flight Entertainment." PaxEx.Aero , 28 May 2024, https://paxex.aero/thales-flytedge-inflight-entertainment/ .
"N12 - הכיתוב המטריד של חברת התעופה האמריקנית על מפת ישראל." N12 , 3 Sept. 2024, https://www.mako.co.il/news-world/2024_q3/Article-e5d4d98bc67b191027.htm .
Schlappig, Ben. "JetBlue Drops Inflight Map Vendor Over Palestine Controversy." One Mile at a Time , 9 Sept. 2024, https://onemileatatime.com/news/jetblue-map-palestine/ .
Six-Day War | Definition, Causes, History, Summary, Outcomes, & Facts | Britannica . 25 Aug. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War .
Stefan, Dana. "JetBlue Changes In-Flight Map Vendors after Golan Heights Controversy." Travel Tomorrow , 9 Sept. 2024, https://traveltomorrow.com/jetblue-changes-in-flight-map-vendors-after-golan-heights-controversy/.s
Local News
Comments / 0