FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show The ‘G7 Summit Parking Lot’ Packed With Planes?

Brad Sylvester | Fact Check Editor

An image shared on Facebook over 8,700 times allegedly shows the “G7 summit parking lot” filled with dozens of airplanes.

Verdict: False

The image, which was taken in 2019, actually shows grounded Boeing 737 Max planes in Seattle, not a “parking lot” for the 2021 G-7 Summit in the U.K.

Fact Check:

The Group of Seven, or G-7, is a forum comprised of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.K. They recently met at Cornwall in the U.K. for a summit from June 11 to June 13, according to the Associated Press.

A picture widely shared on Facebook claims to show the summit’s “parking lot” in which dozens of airplanes with various markings are parked in rows. “G7 summit parking lot,” reads text inside the image. “These clowns are fighting climate change one private plane trip at a time.”

The G-7 leaders discussed climate change, as well as other topics, at the summit in Cornwall, according to BBC News. (RELATED: Did Trump Attend The G7 Summit Without Pen Or Paper?)

The photo is unrelated to the recent G-7 summit. A reverse image search revealed it was first published by Reuters in July 2019, with a caption that states it was taken in Seattle. The picture, taken by Reuters photographer Lindsey Wasson, can be found in a July 2019 slideshow titled “Grounded Boeing 737 MAX planes from above.”

“Dozens of grounded Boeing 737 MAX aircraft are seen parked in an aerial photo at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, July 1,” reads the caption of the photo. “Boeing deliveries lagged those of Airbus SE, which on Tuesday said it handed over 389 planes in the same period, up 28% from a year earlier. The numbers indicate that Boeing’s full-year deliveries are likely to fall behind its European rival for the first time in eight years.”

In 2019, hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jetliners were grounded across the globe following a fatal 737 Max 8 crash in Ethiopia, according to The New York Times. Another 737 Max plane had crashed in Indonesia the previous year, killing 189 people, BBC News reported.

While the image of the planes is miscaptioned, the G7 leaders did travel by plane to the summit earlier this month. U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga all flew to Cornwall, according to various photos and news reports.

Brad Sylvester

Fact Check Editor
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