AI demands unconditional apology from Times Now

AI demands unconditional apology from Times Now

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Jul 29: Air India (AI) has demanded an unconditional apology from Times Now, a TV news channel, for airing a wrong report that flight number IX 811, which supposed to take off from Mangalore International Airport to Dubai on 9:30 p.m. on July 24, had caught fire.

A letter from Station Manager of AI Chellam Prasad to the editor of Times Now TV news channel states that the news channel should apologize to AI for giving baseless, unconfirmed, and wrong news about the national carrier as it has caused long-term serious damage to its reputation. The letter also calls upon Times Now to inform its viewers that its report regarding the fire in an AI aircraft was baseless, wrong, and unconfirmed and that it sincerely regrets the error.

AI also wants the channel to telecast its apology and the correction in every news bulletin throughout the day so that the misinformed public may know the truth. The national carrier has demanded that the news channel should continuously flash its apology and correction throughout the day, failing which AI will seek legal remedies.

On July 24, Saturday, Times Now broke the news that AI flight IX 811 had caught fire just before taking off to Dubai. Further investigation revealed that the report was false and that the call to the duty manager at the airport about the fire was a hoax. A technical error, however, had delayed the take off by a few minutes; but the flight, which took off from Mangalore, landed safely in Dubai.