The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority said the viral video of passengers on an Air France flight aggressively demanding water is old and has no link to any Abuja-bound flight, despite claims circulating on social media.The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, Michael Achimugu, on Saturday, said preliminary findings by the aviation regulator indicate that the incident did not occur within the timeframe being suggested online.The NCAA publicist said, “That video is old, not recent. I checked with our Consumer Protection Officers yesterday, and Air France did not even operate any Abuja flights yesterday, definitely not.”In the video sighted by our correspondent, flight attendants were seen in a heated exchange with Black passengers thought to be Nigerians. The passengers complained loudly that the airline had denied them water, while a white female flight attendant was captured shouting at them in response.She said, “Shut up,” and the passengers too said the same thing to her.This is against the background of the aviation industry putting in place several rules against passenger violence/unruly passengers.A female passenger was also overheard saying, “This is not normal; why not give us water to drink?”According to Achimugu, the NCAA is still investigating the exact circumstances surrounding the footage, including where and when the incident actually occurred, noting that it may have taken place outside Nigeria.He added, “We are suspecting that it was a flight that was diverted to Lomé, and while they were on the ground in Lomé, that might have been when this happened. However, we are still trying to get details about the incident.”Achimugu disclosed that the NCAA contacted Air France’s Lagos station as part of its verification process, and the airline denied that the incident involved any of its recent flights.He added that the viral footage, though disturbing, does not on its own establish wrongdoing by the airline.Emphasising standard aviation practice, the NCAA spokesman said it would be highly unlikely for an airline to deliberately refuse passengers access to drinking water.“The video itself does not provide evidence against the airline. What it shows is unruly passengers. Even on domestic airlines, it’s not possible that you will ask for water and they won’t give you,” he said.Achimugu further noted that the disturbance in the video appeared to involve only a small group of passengers, while the majority remained calm.
Air France water protest video not recent, NCAA clarifies
