It's not an invasion
UN-marked aircraft only in city for maintenance
Author of the article:
Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles
Publishing date:
Feb 21, 2022
The City of North Bay garnered national attention on social media over the weekend for aircraft spotted at Jack Garland Aiport.
A video posted on Twitter and TikTok of two United Nations airplanes parked at Voyageur Airways at Jack Garland Airport caused a flurry of speculation and conspiracy theories.
The video, speculation and possible theories became so popular, North Bay was trending on Twitter for the last three days with people speculating why they believe the planes were in North Bay.
Thousands of people, including politicians, journalists, North Bay residents and conspiracy theorists weighed in providing possible explanations.
Many believe it was to transport police officers or UN troops to help break up the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa.
“UN plane spotted in North Bay, Ontario – appears to have been there for at least a day. I wonder where all those cops in Ottawa came from?” posted Julia.
Andrew Lawton of The Andrew Lawton Show told his followers to please stop sending him photos of the United Nations planes in North Bay.
“This has nothing to do with the trucker convoy protests. North Bay is home to Voyageur Airways, an Ontario company that provides charters and maintenance services for the UN.”
Powassan Mayor Peter McIsaac tried to clear up the miscommunication and jumped on the Twitter train telling the public “North Bay trending and people are losing their paranoid conspiracies and filled minds.”
The Nugget was contacted by several people Saturday and Sunday asking why UN planes were in the city.
The Nugget reached out to Voyageur Airways Sunday evening for an explanation.
“I can confirm that the aircraft has been in North Bay for several weeks for a routine aircraft maintenance heavy check event at our Voyageur North Bay facility,” said Melchior Schori, manager of employee and corporate communications.
“Voyageur employs approximately 220 people in North Bay, providing aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services for a global customer base. I trust this will clarify the misleading claims.”
By Monday morning the UN planes couldn’t be seen from Airport Road.