British Airways will launch a controversial marketing campaign this morning urging Britons to stay at home during the London Olympic Games this summer.
Launching at 11:00hrs exclusively on Facebook, the advert will tell Britons: "Don't Fly. Support Team GB". It will be followed by a TV commercial during tonight's Euro 2012 match between England and Ukraine that is expected to be watched by millions.
BA described the ad as "tongue in cheek" but it seemed likely to cause a further headache for outbound operators who were infuriated earlier this year by a government campaign to persuade Britons to holiday in the UK this summer.
However, ABTA did not appear antagonised by the BA advert that could potentially dissuade holidaymakers from travelling during the summer peak. An ABTA spokesman said: "Everybody in the industry is fully behind team GB at both the Olympics and Paralympics. The incredible domestic demand for Olympics tickets has shown that there is very little danger of our athletes lacking home support.

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