New Delhi: Amid the ongoing cancellations of IndiGo flights, an old video of Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu surfaced online with false claims. Several social media posts claimed that the minister was dancing at an event as over 4,500 IndiGo flights were cancelled in the past seven days.
However, the Press Information Bureau’s (PIB's) fact-checking unit dismissed these claims as "misleading". The PIB Fact Check said that Naidu's video going viral is four months old, and does not link to the current IndiGo crisis.
Old Video Of Civil Aviation Minister Shared With False Claims:
"This claim is misleading! The video is four months old, and it has no link to the current situation and is being circulated out of context," the PIB Fact Check stated.
PIB Fact Check Debunks False Claims:
The PIB also asked social media users to verify the details before sharing any video with misleading claims. "Old and unrelated videos are often reused to spread misinformation. Verify timelines and sources before believing or forwarding viral content," it stated.
Earlier in the day, Naidu blamed IndiGo's operational issues for the ongoing disruption in flight operations. "The IndiGo crisis occurred due to problems in its crew rostering and internal planning systems. IndiGo was supposed to manage crew rosters through its day-to-day operations. We are ensuring that the FDTL is properly implemented, and there has been no compromise on that front. For a full month, we have been closely monitoring the situation," the minister said during his address in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister clarified that the government was continuously in touch with IndiGo regarding the new roster guidelines. Naidu further told the Upper House that on December 1, the Civil Aviation Ministry had a meeting and gave clarification to the airline about the new rules.
"On December 1, we held a meeting with IndiGo regarding FDTL when they sought clarifications, and we provided them. They did not flag any issues then, and everything was running normally. Suddenly, on December 3, we observed these issues and the Ministry immediately stepped in. We took control of the situation at airports and consulted all stakeholders. You have seen how things unfolded over those two days," Naidu said.
Notably, the IndiGo crisis continued for the seventh straight day on Monday with around 400 flights having been cancelled so far.
