Lufthansa has revealed a special livery for its Qatar Football World Cup plane which the airline said "sends a clear message to the world".
The Airbus A330 is emblazoned with the message "diversity wins" along with an image depicting people of various genders and ethnicities arm-in-arm.
The paint job has been unveiled amid controversy over Qatar's strict anti-LGBTQ+ rules. Homosexuality is illegal in the Middle Eastern nation, however Qatar World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman recently said LGBTQ+ travellers are welcome to attend the tournament - so long as they "accept our rules here".
On Monday (local time), Lufthansa will drop off Germany's World Cup players, coaches and staff to a training camp in Oman on regular scheduled flight LH632 from Frankfurt to Dubai via Muscat.
The airline has not yet confirmed if it will use the same aircraft to transport the team to Qatar, but is expected to.
"Lufthansa is a byword for openness, tolerance, diversity and bringing people together," the airline said.
"The company enables its customers from all nations and cultures to connect, and welcomes everyone aboard, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, religion, nationality, identity or sexual orientation. And it is taking this same message - that Diversity Wins! - aloft and around the world."
Germany's interior minister Nancy Faeser, who is also in charge of sport, called Salman's comments "terrible".
