Qantas has responded after conspiracy theorists linked the company with a global secret society because of a viral video.
Images from a 9 News bulletin showed a Qantas plane with engine covers that caught attention online. The black engine covers appear to have been covered with tape with the all-seeing eye of God on one engine, and the Freemason symbol on the other.
The symbols are associated with conspiracy theories about the Illuminati, a group of elite leaders who conspire to control global events.
On social media some discussed a deeper meaning, while others assumed it was the airport ground crew having a joke.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.A YouTube conspiracy video of the bulletin titled "Qantas busted" racked up more than 10,000 views this week.
"Weird Illuminati and Freemason logos on Qantas engine covers. Any reason behind this?" a Reddit post asked Thursday.
"Probably just the person who taped the covers on having a bit of fun," one person responded.
"It's a joke by the ground crew to f*** with conspiracy people on the internet," another said. "I'm all for it, whoever did this is a legend."
Today, Qantas took the step of responding to a number of users on Twitter who was asking them about the symbols.
The airline told one man the artwork was just a pastime for the ground crew.
"Hi, aircraft engine cover art is a thing," the airline said. "As you can see, the yellow tape can sometimes be used quite creatively.
"We've obviously got a few engineers who are fans of The Da Vinci Code but we've asked them to stick to emojis and smiley faces."