Italian airline Alitalia sparks outrage with an ad for their transatlantic flights to the USA featuring Tunisian actor dressed up in blackface to portray Barack Obama

Alitalia has issued an apology after igniting outrage on social media for an ad campaign which featured a Tunisian-born actor dressed up in blackface to portray Barack Obama.

Italy’s flagship airline rolled out a series of commercials to promote its newly opened nonstop Rome-to-Washington, DC route.

In keeping with the theme of our nation’s capital, Alitalia thought it was a good idea to have the commercial star four men who portray the current American president, Donald Trump; his predecessor, Obama; Abraham Lincoln; and George Washington.

The airline promoted the campaign on social media using the hashtag #WhereIsWashington.

Alitalia, Italy's flagship airline, apologized this week after social media users were outraged over a commercial in which Barack Obama is portrayed by an actor dressed up in blackface

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The ads, which feature four men who portray Presidents Lincon, Washington, Obama, and Trump, were unveiled to promote Alitalia's newly announced nonstop flights from Rome to Washington's Dulles Airport

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‘Alitalia deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the promotional video on our new Washington route,’ the airline said in a statement

But some social media users reacted angrily when they noticed that the actor who plays Obama was not black, The New York Times reported.

The reactions on Facebook and YouTube were critical, with some people calling the ad ‘outrageous’ while noting that using blackface to portray Obama was ‘universally considered a racist practice.’

Initially, Alitalia pushed back against the online criticism, saying that the actor who plays Obama was not Caucasian and that ‘makeup was applied to highlight features.’

But on Wednesday, the company backed down and apologized. It also removed the ads from its social media pages.

‘Alitalia deeply apologizes for the offense caused by the promotional video on our new Washington route,’ the airline said in a statement.

‘For our company, respect for everyone is mandatory, it was never our intention to hurt anyone and we will learn from what has happened.’

Alitalia is the latest Italian brand which was publicly flogged over the issue of ‘blackface.’

Gucci apologized earlier this year after it marketed a black sweater that included a balaclava knit top black that when worn above the neck resembled blackface.

The black sweater with a pull-up neck featured a cutout surrounded by cartoonish red lips.

Gucci apologized, saying that it was committed to diversity and considered it a 'fundamental value to be fully upheld, respected and at the forefront of every decision we make.'

In December, Prada said it was no longer selling a line of accessories that featured a character with brown skin and exaggerated red lips after complaints they resembled blackface.

The Swedish clothing retailer H&M ignited outrage last year when it marketed a hooded sweater on its web site.

The sweater, which was worn by a young black boy, read: ‘Coolest monkey in the jungle.’

A number of H&M stores were ransacked in South Africa by angry locals who denounced the ad.

H&M pulled the ad and apologized to 'anyone it may have offended'.

Earlier this week, sportswear giant Nike canceled plans to release a sneaker that featured a colonial-era version of the American flag.

Nike recalled the shoe after former NFL quarterback and Nike pitchman Colin Kaepernick asked the company not to sell a shoe with a symbol that he and others consider offensive because of its connection to an era of slavery, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Nike had planned to release a new version of the Air Max 1 sneaker ahead of the Fourth of July holiday that featured a version of the U.S. flag with 13 white stars representing the first U.S. colonies.

The flag is commonly known as the ‘Betsy Ross flag.’

The move angered conservatives, many of whom vowed to boycott Nike.

Arizona’s governor, Doug Ducey, on Tuesday withdrew a $1million incentive for Nike Inc to build a plant in the state.

Ducey is a Republican.