Qantas Airways is apologizing after an R-rated film was reportedly shown on all screens during the flight

NEW YORK (AP) — Qantas Airways caused a stir after airing a slightly racy film throughout the flight. And the Australian airline is now apologizing to customers.

Qantas confirmed to The Associated Press that there were technical issues with in-flight entertainment during a trip from Sydney to Haneda last week, which meant individual movie selections were unavailable. As a result, the crew selected a film to play on all screens “at the request of a number of passengers,” the company said.

Qantas has not identified the film by name, but several media outlets have reported that it was “Daddio,” an R-rated film was released in theaters earlier this year.

“Daddio” follows a woman (Dakota Johnson) who takes a taxi at JFK Airport and begins a longer conversation with her driver (Sean Penn) on the way home to Manhattan – than the two of them discuss everything from what it takes to be a New Yorker to relationships and infidelity, particularly her current affair with a married man. The film is rated R for “persistent language, sexual material and brief graphic nudity.”

Social media posts from users who claim they were on the Qantas flight said the nudity and sexting in the film made them uncomfortable – particularly for families and children who were on board. Two users on Reddit said it was also impossible for individual passengers to turn off the film.

After realizing the film wasn’t suitable for all ages, the Qantas team tried to fix screens for travelers who didn’t want to watch it – but later realized this wasn’t possible and changed course.

“The film was clearly not suitable for viewing throughout the flight and we sincerely apologize to customers for this experience,” a Qantas spokesperson said in a statement. “For the remainder of the flight, all screens were switched to a family-friendly film, which is our standard practice for the rare occasions when individual film selection is not possible.”

The spokesperson added that Qantas is “reviewing how the (original) film was selected”.

In the days following the incident, the airline faced some criticism online – including from travel competitors.

“Plot twist: We let you choose your films,” Air New Zealand wrote in a response to the news on social media platform X.