Trouble may be heading the way of some Nigerian media firms including the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, Legit.ng and PM News Nigeria, because they incorrectly associated Flair Airlines to reports of an aircraft that allegedly contravened the restriction of commercial flights into Nigeria.
On Sunday, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, tweeted that a British firm had been caught operating commercial flight into Nigeria under the guise of humanitarian operations. The minister had initially identified the aircraft as owned by Flair Aviation, but retracted the statement at a press briefing on Monday, saying the plane was owned by FlairJet, the UK registered company and an affiliate of FlexJet.
However, in reporting the situation, media firms including Legit.ng and PM News, used a picture of an aircraft that belongs to a different aviation firm with similar name – Flair Airline, a Canadian firm — to illustrate a story that borders on an alleged breach of the law.
Another media firm, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), published what it categorised as a ‘fact-check article’ with the heading: “Impounded Flair aviation aircraft is Canadian-based, not UK as touted by Aviation Minister”. The ‘fact-check’ article which did not quote officials of Canada-based Flair Airlines Ltd., wrongly attributed the airline to the alleged violation of commercial flight restriction in Nigeria.
As of the time of filing this report, none of the media firms have retracted and corrected the news report and image. ICIR, Legit.ng and PM News Nigeria did not respond to requests for comment
In a statement, Flair Airlines Ltd., told the West African Pilot News that the news media (excluding WAP) incorrectly associated its firm to the alleged illegality “by use of an image of our aircraft.”
“The airline in question by Nigerian authorities is not Flair Airlines Ltd., and its employees and aircraft are not involved or engaged in this situation.” Jamina Kotak of Flair Airlines told WAP News. “Flair Airlines Ltd., a Canadian owned and operated company, does not have authority to fly any aircraft – commercial, charter, or cargo – to or from the Federal Republic of Nigeria or to any other country within Africa.”
“We have asked the publication to correct the story with the correct information and retract our image,” the firm said.
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