Growing complaints, especially by those in the medical profession, over an advertisement said to be demeaning towards the nursing profession has forced AirAsia to apologise.

According to Astro Awani , AirAsia has retracted the advertisement by sister company Tune Insurance, which had been placed onboard its aircrafts.

It was reported that the ad, which features the words, “You want your momma, because you are in the hospital with lousy nurses”, drew the ire of nurses, resulting in an online petition for it to be taken down and which has since garnered 2,000 signatures.

“The ad seems to suggest that nurses are nothing more than maternal substitutes who wipe brows and fluff pillows.

“This unskilled stereotype contributes to the undervaluation of nursing by promoting the idea that nursing is not a distinct or substantial profession through which science-educated men and women save lives,” said one Seok Lee, who initiated  the petition.

She had further objected to the labelling of nurses as “lousy”.

Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has also demanded the advertisement be removed and an apology issued.

In a statement emailed to Astro Awani , an AirAsia spokesperson assured that “all measures are being taken to remove the said advertisement immediately from our aircraft.”

However, it had explained that the ad space had been purchased by Tune Insurance and that the latter has since apologised.

The online petition also featured an apology which it claimed was from Tune Insurance, in which the company said “we are taking this matter seriously and are working towards removing the said advertisements as soon as possible”.