Qantas apologizes after an R-rated film was played on all screens during its flight from Sydney to Tokyo

CNN
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Things got unexpectedly fast-paced on board a recent Qantas flight when a rated movie started playing on every screen on the plane.

Passengers on the flight from Sydney to Tokyo's Haneda Airport last week were unable to select films individually due to a technical issue with the in-flight entertainment system, according to a statement from the Australian airline to CNN confirming the incident.

“Our crew members had a limited list of films to play on all screens on the aircraft, and at the request of several passengers, a specific film was selected for the entire flight,” the statement said.

Although Qantas did not name the film in its statement, several photos of onboard screens posted on social media by users claiming to be on the flight showed that the film was “Daddio.” .

The drama of 2023 Starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn, the film is rated R by the US Motion Pictures Association for “persistent language, sexual material and brief graphic nudity.”

According to a post from a Reddit user who was reportedly on the flight, in addition to nudity, the film also contained “a lot of sexting — the kind where you could literally read the text on the screen without the need for headphones.”

“It took them almost an hour to switch to a more kid-friendly film, but it was super uncomfortable for everyone, especially with families and kids on board,” read the post, which included images of the phone texts featured in the film, and noticed passengers were unable to pause or turn off their screens.

In its statement, Qantas said the team initially attempted to repair the screens for customers who did not want to watch the film. When it turned out that this wasn't possible, it became a children's film.

The airline said cabin crew had apologized to passengers, “particularly those who complained about the contents” and would be in touch with them.

“The film was clearly not suitable for viewing throughout the flight and we sincerely apologize to customers for this experience,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

“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. We check how the film was selected.”

Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly identified the film's star. She is Dakota Johnson.