Azure Container Instance - Node-Red flow file location

I have created an Azure Container Instance that pulls a custom node-red docker image. This image has a custom flow file (qcflow.json) located in folder 'data' at the root level. The container instance appears to start ok. Also, I can reach the node-red console in a browser. However, it is never using the custom flow file.
The attached uploaded image shows the container (node-red) startup log. All looks exactly as it does when I run the docker image locally, except for the line 'Creating new flow file'. It shouldn't be doing this.

image

Any help on how I can get this Azure container instance to use the provided flow file will be most appreciated.
Thank you!

maybe you can find something useful here: https://nostdahl.com/2018/05/25/node-red-deployment-on-azure/