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A post shared several hundred times on Facebook since May 17 relays an alleged “recruitment notice“of the Congolese public company Congo Airways, covering posts of”mechanics“, “accountants“, “flight attendant” and of “stewards“. This ad is in fact a fake, according to the company. The latter denounces a campaign aimed at”leave” son “image“and calls on Internet users to”do not fall into the nets“extended by the authors of the publication.
The Congolese public company Congo Airways in the process of recruiting new agents? This is what claims a publication shared nearly 300 times since May 17 on Facebook, which ensures that this “national recruitment notice“concerns”all of the Democratic Republic of the Congo“(DRC).
“As part of the selection of candidates for future agents, the company (…) receives CVs and cover letters from Monday, May 17“, details the author of this message, which lists 15 professions concerned by this recruitment campaign: in charge of”maintenance“, “mechanics“, “stewards”, “flight attendant“, “accountants“…
Applications should be sent “to the Director of Human Resources“, explains the publication, accompanied by photos of employees posing all smiles in front of an aircraft of the airline company.”The deadline for submitting applications is May 23, 2021“, concludes this text, attributed to”the general direction” de Congo Airways.
“Fake news” and “crooks”
Contacted by AFP, the airline denied being the source of this message. “This is false information, Congo Airways is not recruiting at the moment. We have heard about it and we keep denying it“said a company official.
According to this official, the email address to which the viral publication refers ([email protected]) has no connection with the Congolese national company. It “is also false. It does not match any agency email address“, she insisted.
In a press release published on May 17 on Facebook, Congo Airways had already denied any responsibility in this recruitment announcement, citing a “faux document“.
“This fake news is nothing more than a means for malicious people and enemies of the Republic to want to smear the brand image of the national airline of the DRC“, assures the public company in this press release, which “Asks all opinion not to fall into the nets”Extended by the authors of the publication
“These crooks who will be prosecuted“, concludes the press release.
Capture of a press release published on May 17 by Congo Airways–
300 employees and six destinations
Founded in 2014, the Congo Airways company made its first in October 2015 with the ambition of revolutionizing air transport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a vast country where flights were until then only provided by the UN and by companies listed on the European Union’s blacklist.
It replaced the Congolese Airlines (LAC), bankrupt since 2003 and whose planes had not already been flying, at that date, for years. Its first two planes were purchased second-hand in 2015 from the Italian company Alitalia, for a total amount of around $ 50 million.
Former Congolese President Joseph Kabila during Congo Airways’ inaugural flight on October 9, 2015 from Kinshasa International Airport (AFP / Junior Kannah)–
Congo Airways, which employs nearly 300 people, carried around 300,000 scheduled and non-scheduled passengers in 2019, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It currently serves six destinations, according to the website of the public company. Its initial objective was to serve 14 domestic destinations.
The company announced in January in a press release the acquisition of two new devices, the delivery of which is scheduled for May 2022. The objective remains in the long term “the acquisition of around ten planes to serve the domestic, regional and intercontinental network“, then recalled the company.
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