Thai Airways International has missed a chance to promote the Thai identity in the new safety instruction video showed on its aircraft, an academic said on Monday.
Rungsit Kanjanavanit, the vice president of the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation, said on his Facebook page that the carrier had missed an opportunity to display Thai flora and fauna to the world in the 5.27-minute-long clip.
The video displays safety measures for passengers presented by a Thai crew member in an animated tropical forest.
(Video Facebook/Thai Airways)
The problem, according to Mr Rungsit, is that "most of the tropical animals and trees do not originate in Thailand".
As examples, Mr Rungsit cited bird of paradise flowers, American flamingoes, hummingbirds and Morhop butterflies.
"All are from South America," he said.
Mr Rungsit, a lecturer in the faculty of medicine at Chiang Mai University, said he was not an "extreme nationalist" but decided to air his opinion in order to remind people to be proud of Thailand's natural beauty.
The video was introduced in March and posted on Thai's Facebook accounts. It was also posted on YouTube, where it received more than 96,000 views since its March 7 upload.
Many commentators agreed with Mr Rungsit's post, saying flora and fauna indigenous to Thailand should be given greater prominence in the safety video.
As a comparison, one commentator embedded a safety instruction video by THAI's rival, Singapore Airlines, promoting the landmarks, attractions and culture of the island state.
(Video YouTube/Singapore Airlines)