Like most seat-pocket airplane magazines, Wings of China features anodyne articles, along with tips on cities served by Air China, the country’s flagship state-run airline.

But the September issue, dedicated to tourist attractions in London and other well-known British towns, took a sharp detour into an international social media uproar and national embarrassment with some ill-chosen words on safety.

The passage, written in Chinese and English, said tourists should take precautions “when entering areas mainly populated by Indians, Pakistanis and black people.” It added, “We advise tourists not to go out alone at night, and females always to be accompanied by another person when traveling.”

The passage offended Twitter users like Georgina Blewett, who wrote: “Whoever wrote that #AirChina racist guide nonsense should be embarrassed as hell. And the dummy who gave final approval.” Several British politicians also expressed outrage; one invited Air China officials to visit his multiethnic election district to see how safe it was.