'You're going to like where we land': Airline's 'insensitive' Ground Zero ad

Updated



United Airline has been branded 'insensitive' after placing an ad that reads 'You're going to like where we land' next to the Ground Zero site in New York.

The advert stands just feet away from the place where United Airlines flight 175 struck the south tower of the World Trade Centre on 11 September - and has angered many New Yorkers, who are calling it 'insensitive'.

According to the Daily Mail, the placement of the sign on a light post at the top of the stairs that lead down to the Cortlandt Street subway station, was reportedly approved by the Metropolitan Transport Auhtority.

An MTA spokesman said it was a third-party vendor that put up the sign, and the advert was part of a wider campaign for United.

He added the authority had contacted the vendor 'to remove the ad from that location as soon as possible'.

A United Airlines spokesman said the airline was not aware of the ad's placement, and said it was part of a campaign that was launched in March.

NBC New York yesterday interviewed pedestrians at the site of the ad, and many said the advert's message was not deliberately controversial, but became more poignant and insensitive because of its placement.

Annette Guadalupe of Ozone Park, Queens, said: 'It brings back very bad memories of 9/11 and I don't think this is an appropriate place for that kind of sign. I think they should be more considerate of the people who died here.'

It is the second embarrassment in a week for the airline, who apologised on Wednesday for mistakenly briefly restarting the use of flight numbers 175 and 93 - both involved in the 2001 terror attacks.

The numbers were mistakenly assigned to two flights by Continental Airlines - which is undergoing a merger with United.

Related articles

New York city guide! The best things to do in the Big Apple

Hotel review: The Mandarin Oriental, New York

Advertisement