Asiana Airlines faces backlash for mislabeling Ukrainian cities as Russian territory on in-flight map

South Korea’s Asiana Airlines Inc. on Friday came under fire for mislabeling two Ukrainian cities as part of Russia on its in-flight infotainment system, drawing criticism from Ukrainian nationals and social media users.

According to a passenger who shared a photo on Instagram, the cities of Dnipro (formerly Dnepropetrovsk) and Donetsk appeared under Russian territory on the airline’s digital map.

The labeling is not found on Asiana’s official website, suggesting the issue may be limited to the in-flight entertainment platform.

In an Instagram direct message exchange, Yuliana Romaniv, the Ukrainian passenger who uploaded the photo on social media, told Yonhap News Agency that the photo was taken Wednesday on an Incheon-London flight.

“It was heartbreaking, honestly. Dnipro was never under Russian occupation, so that was a shock for me,” Romaniv said. “A lot of Ukrainians lost their loved ones who went to defend those cities, and seeing it labeled as Russian territory was very painful.”

Romaniv said she notified Asiana Airlines of the blunder via social media “but (I) haven’t gotten a response yet.”

The controversy has prompted angry responses on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“So now South Korean airlines are siding with Russia? Why? Dnipro and Donetsk are part of Ukraine, not Russia!” one user wrote.

Another sarcastically commented, “Seoul is part of North Korea, right?”

Romaniv added, “It might be better to see that they’re actually trying to fix this; otherwise, people will be getting more upset, I think.”

Asiana Airlines was recently acquired by local industry leader Korean Air Lines Co.

The company has acknowledged the error in its in-flight map and said it has immediately requested the outside software developer to correct the issue.

The supplier of the in-flight infotainment system was known to be a unit of Japan’s Panasonic Holdings Corp.

Ukraine has been engaged in war with Russia since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Donetsk, a major city in eastern Ukraine, remains under Russian occupation but is internationally recognized as part of Ukrainian territory.