‘Dad’s Day Out’ newspaper ad becomes India’s darkest déjà vu moment

New Delhi: On the morning of June 12, people who had subscribed to the Mid Day newspaper were welcomed by a full front-page advertisement of KidZania, an educational entertainment brand.

The advertisement, promoting KidZania’s “Dad’s Day Out” event, shows a bustling KidZania city with various role-play stations for children. The advertisement also featured an Air India flight lodged into a building. 

Hours later, the Air India AI171, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, heading from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed. Seconds after take-off, the flight plunged into a hostel building of a medical college.  

Social media was thrown into a frenzy. Netizens shared the front page of the newspaper, flabbergasted by the striking resemblance to the unforeseen and horrifying incident. 

The otherwise harmless front-page KidZania ad in Mid-day today depicting the theme park has understandably created a flutter online in view of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad. Some say it was prophetic.@mid_day pic.twitter.com/YrabcMaoRB

— VARUN DAS (@das_varun99) June 12, 2025

In a striking coincidence, the front page of Gujarat's Mid-Day newspaper, printed hours before a tragic Air India crash, featured a large KidZania advertisement prominently displaying an Air India aircraft.#planecrash #AirIndia #GujaratPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/FxCudTt72W

— Niilakshii (@warrior_nii) June 13, 2025

Received this on WA-check out the Kidzania ad on the front page of today’s @mid_day

An Air India plane is crashing through a building 😱😱😱

Just a bizarre coincidence nothing else please

(p.s. before people jump into conclusions, Kidzania has flight simulator for children) pic.twitter.com/SdW6EmPQSp

— Sameer (@BesuraTaansane) June 12, 2025

One thing I always tell my people, family, and friends: only put positive things into the universe. The universe always reflects what we project. This ad was meant as a joyful Father’s Day celebration, and I respect that intent. Yet, it underscores the gravity of what we share. I… pic.twitter.com/M7rqE2EwK2

— Tehseen Poonawalla Official 🇮🇳 (@tehseenp) June 12, 2025

A Kidzania advertisement in Mid-Day featuring a model airplane that bears a striking resemblance to an Air India plane. Strange Coincidence ! pic.twitter.com/3KJKxotHmp

— TheStoryTeller (@GreenMirchiii) June 12, 2025

In actuality, the striking resemblance was just another coincidence.  In June last year, Air India announced the launch of Air India Aviation Academy, in partnership with KidZania.

These academies were located in Sector-38, Noida and R City Mall, Ghatkopar, Mumbai.  The academies were aimed at offering youngsters an opportunity to experience aviation tasks using a simulator.

The newspaper advertisement, published on the front page of the newspaper on June 12, has, since then, been paused from further propagation. 

The Air India flight that crashed had 242 people on board. Out of the entire passenger lot, only one passenger survived.  The passenger, identified as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British-Indian National, was seated in 11A and walked out as the sole survivor of an aircraft crash that is being touted as the deadliest in over a decade.