KLM apologises after tweet rubs salt into Mexican fans' World Cup exit wounds

Rio de Janeiro: What was meant to be a jokehas turned into a PR blunder for Dutch airline KLM after itangered Mexican soccer fans by taking to Twitter to celebratethe Netherlands’ dramatic comeback victory in the World Cup.

Within minutes of the Netherlands’ 2-1 victory over theTri, KLM let loose on its Twitter feed a picture of an airportdepartures sign under the heading “Adios Amigos!” Next to theword “Departures” is the image of a man with a mustachewearing a sombrero.

The post immediately went viral, with A-list Mexicanactor Gael Garcia Bernal using not one but two expletives in a
140-character Tweet to tell his 2 million-plus followers thathe’ll never fly the carrier again. Amid the widespread protestonline, the post was pulled a half-hour later without anexplanation.

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“It was meant to be a joke,” KLM spokeswoman LisetteEbeling Koning told The Associated Press, adding that the
airline never intended to offend Mexicans, which it serves viaa daily direct flight between Mexico City and Amsterdam. “Butthere was too much negative reaction.”

KLM issued a formal apology late last night.

“In the best of sportsmanship, we offer our heartfeltapologies to those who have been offended by the comment,”
said Marnix Fruitema, director general of KLM in NorthAmerica.

For its part, Mexican national carrier AeroMexico is alsogetting in on the fun, broadcasting on Twitter its support forthe country’s soccer team under an arrivals sign.

“Thank you for this great championship,” AeroMexico said.“You’ve made us proud and we’re waiting for you at home.”

AP
AP