The broadcaster reported it a day later on the nightly news programme “World Express,” where Chinese internet users quickly spotted the gaffe and spread the word.

By Wednesday, CCTV had pulled the clip from its website. When “World Express” producer Xu Qi was contacted on her mobile phone by The Associated Press, she asked to be phoned back later because she was in a meeting, but repeated calls rang unanswered.

CCTV had reported that Branson’s Virgin Atlantic airline would start flying the first-ever glass-bottomed planes between London and Scotland. It quoted as the source The Daily Mirror – which had made it clear it was in on the joke by reminding online readers that it was April Fool’s Day.

CCTV also aired photos originally posted in Branson’s blog on Virgin’s official site on Monday and carried by the British tabloid. Quoting The Daily Mirror, a CCTV news announcer said that passengers need not worry about safety because the see-through bottom would be aviation-grade glass.

“Maybe to spice up its programming for ratings, CCTV sometimes fails to check the source of the information,” Beijing journalism professor Zhan Jiang said.

It is not the first time China’s state media have fallen for spoof news articles.

When the US satirical website The Onion proclaimed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un the sexiest man alive in November, it ended up as real news on websites of several Chinese newspapers, including the Communist Party’s flagship People’s Daily.

Read more: Telegraph