'Fire in AI Express': Airline Seeks Apology from TV News Channel
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SB)
Mangalore, Jul 29: National airline Air India has sought an unconditional apology from the authorities of a television news channel for the telecast of wrong, baseless and unconfirmed report of fire in flight NO IX 811 that was scheduled to take off from Mangalore to Dubai on 9.30 pm on July 24.
Chellam Prasad, station manager, Air India in a letter to the news editor of Times Now channel, Mumbai has stated that the channel owes unconditionally apology for the baseless and unconfirmed report telecast by the channel on July 24 has caused serious and long term damage to the reputation and credibility of the national airline that always held passenger safety as its prime concern. Air India calls upon you to “inform” the viewers that the said report was unconfirmed and hence baseless and that the error is sincerely regretted, it is stated.
Further, Air India has called upon the channel to telecast the apology and also repeatedly telecast the corrective action in every news bulletin throughout the day so that the misinformed public may get the correct and true information. Also the channel has been asked to continuously flash the same as a caption on screen throughout the day. If failed legal remedy will be sought, states the letter.
It can be recalled here that close to midnight on Saturday July 24, television channel, Times Now broke the news that Air India flight IX 811 at Mangalore airport had caught fire just before take off. However, on further investigation it was found that the reports were false and the call to the duty manager at the airport regarding the fire was a hoax. Nevertheless, there was indeed a technical snag in the plane which caused a short delay before take off, but it was quickly sorted out and the flight took off from Mangalore and landed in Dubai safely.