The Civil Aviation Authority of Nigeria has said that a viral video of passengers on an Air France plane aggressively asking for water is old and has no connection to the Abuja-bound flight, despite claims circulating on social media.
NCAA Director of Communications and Consumer Protection Michael Achimugu said Saturday that preliminary findings by the aviation regulator indicate the incident did not occur within the time frame suggested online.
An NCAA spokesperson said: “That video is old and not recent. I checked with our consumer protection officer yesterday and Air France didn’t even operate the Abuja flight yesterday. That’s definitely not the case.”
A video seen by our correspondent showed a flight attendant having a heated exchange with a black passenger, believed to be Nigerian. Passengers loudly complained that the airline had denied them water, and a white female flight attendant was caught yelling at them in response.
She said, “Shut up,” and the passengers told her the same.
This comes against the backdrop of the airline industry introducing several rules against passenger violence and unruly passengers.
A female passenger was also heard saying, “This is not normal. Why don’t you give her some water?”
Achimugu said the NCAA is still investigating the exact circumstances surrounding the footage, including when and where the incident actually occurred, noting it may have taken place outside Nigeria.
He added: “We suspect that the plane bound for Lomé was diverted. This incident may have occurred while they were on the ground in Lomé. However, we are still trying to understand the details of the incident.”
Achimugu disclosed that the NCAA had contacted Air France’s Lagos office as part of the verification process, but the airline denied that the incident was related to the airline’s recent flights.
He added that while the footage that went viral was disturbing, it did not in itself prove wrongdoing by the airline.
An NCAA spokesperson emphasized standard aviation practices and said it was highly unlikely that airlines would intentionally deny passengers access to drinking water.
“The video itself does not provide any evidence against the airline. What it shows is an unruly passenger. There is no way even a domestic airline could ask for water and not give it to them,” he said.
Achimugu further noted that the commotion in the video appeared to involve only a small number of passengers, and that most passengers remained calm.
“If you look closely at the video, you’ll see that most of the passengers were seated. It was just a few people who created that scenario,” he said.
He said their behavior appeared to be disorderly, but added that he would not speculate on intoxication. “We have seen problems like this before. If you look at the behavior of our people abroad, you would be ashamed to be a Nigerian. Even if the airline refuses to give you water, that is not the way you should behave.”
He assured the public that the NCAA will continue to investigate the matter and provide updates as more information becomes available.
“Let’s investigate further to find out exactly when and where that incident happened,” Achimugu said.