The Tunisian Federation of Travel and Tourism Agency (FTAV) went up to the niche and expressed its “total and unconditional support” on Wednesday to the Nouvelair airline, after the controversy aroused by the September 21 incident at Nice airport and widely relayed by certain foreign media.
An Airbus A320 from Nouvelair, from Tunis and in the landing phase at Nice airport, narrowly missed a collision with another device on September 21.
According to the Office of Investigation and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (Bea), quoted by BFM TVthe Tunisian plane would have been wrong, causing a “serious situation” that could have turned to disaster. The pilots, however, corrected their maneuver in time, avoiding any drama. No passenger was injured.
For his part, Nice-Matin evokes the request of Eric Ciotti, deputy UDR of the Alpes-Maritimes, to suspend the flight authorizations of the Tunisian company Nouvelair.
The reaction of the FTAV
In a press release, the FTAV wanted to defend Nouvellair, calling it “pillar of the national pavilion”, recognized for its seriousness and its professionalism. She recalled that the incident is still the subject of investigations carried out by the competent authorities, stressing that “it is regrettable that certain foreign media have relayed information prematurely, even before the end of investigations, fueling unfounded rumors and undermining the image of the company and Tunisian air transport”.
The FTAV insisted that “all passengers are safe and sound” and that Nouvelair cooperates fully with the authorities. With 36 years of experience, the company is described as a reliable player, respectful of international standards and essential to the development of Tunisian tourism.
The Federation also urged tourism and transport players to “restraint, unity and responsibility”, in order to avoid any “foreign media instrumentalization” which, according to her, would weaken the Tunisian tourist and air ecosystem.
It concludes by reaffirming its support “in the face of unjustified criticism and the premature media campaign” of which Nouvelair would be the target.
