A charter plane that was grounded in France for a human trafficking investigation arrived in India with 276 Indians aboard Tuesday, authorities said. The passengers had been heading to Nicaragua but were instead blocked inside a rural French airport for four days in an exceptional holiday ordeal.
Quick Read
- Flight from UAE to Nicaragua: A Legend Airlines A340 plane carrying 303 passengers flew from Fujairah airport in the UAE, bound for Managua, Nicaragua.
- Grounding in France: The plane was grounded at France’s Vatry Airport during a refueling stop on Thursday, following an anonymous tip about potential human trafficking.
- Extended Airport Stay: Passengers were held at Vatry Airport for four days, with local officials providing cots, meals, and showers.
- Emergency Hearings: The airport terminal turned into a makeshift courtroom for emergency hearings to determine the passengers’ next steps.
- Return to India: The plane was authorized to leave for Mumbai on Monday, carrying 276 of the original passengers.
- Asylum Requests: 25 passengers requested asylum in France and were transferred to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport.
- Child and Unaccompanied Minors: The passengers included a 21-month-old child and several unaccompanied minors.
- Investigation into Human Trafficking: Two passengers were detained but released as ‘’assisted witnesses” in the ongoing investigation into potential human trafficking.
- Prosecutors’ Inquiry: French authorities are investigating the flight’s purpose, focusing on illegal entry or stay in a country by an organized criminal group.
- Unclear Ultimate Destination: There was no comment on whether the passengers’ final destination was the U.S., which has seen an increase in Indian nationals crossing from Mexico.
- Human Trafficking Suspicions: It remains unclear if human trafficking is still suspected in the case.
- Legal Concerns: Some lawyers criticized the authorities’ handling of the situation and questioned the passengers’ rights.
- Indian Embassy’s Involvement: The Indian Embassy expressed gratitude to French officials for ensuring the passengers’ return home.
- Legend Airlines’ Stance: The airline denied any involvement in human trafficking, stating some passengers paid for a trip to Nicaragua.
- Nicaragua’s Human Trafficking Status: The U.S. government has identified Nicaragua as a country failing to meet standards for eliminating human trafficking, and it’s known as a migratory route due to relaxed entry requirements.
The Associated Press has the story:
276 Indians stuck in a French airport for days for a human trafficking probe arrive in India
Newslooks- MUMBAI, India (AP)
A charter plane that was grounded in France for a human trafficking investigation arrived in India with 276 Indians aboard Tuesday, authorities said. The passengers had been heading to Nicaragua but were instead blocked inside a rural French airport for four days in an exceptional holiday ordeal.
Upon arrival in Mumbai, the passengers filed out of the airport without speaking publicly about what they’d been through or where they would go next. Carrying backpacks or small suitcases, some wore hoods or masks to conceal their identities.
A total of 303 passengers had originally boarded the Legend Airlines A340 plane last week in Fujairah airport in the United Arab Emirates for a flight to Managua, Nicaragua. When the plane stopped in France’s Vatry Airport in Champagne country for refueling Thursday, it was grounded by police based on an anonymous tip that it could be carrying human trafficking victims.
The Vatry airport was requisitioned by police for days. Local officials, medics and volunteers installed cots and ensured regular meals and showers for those held inside. Then it turned into a makeshift courtroom Sunday as judges, lawyers and interpreters filled the terminal to carry out emergency hearings to determine the next steps.
The plane was authorized to leave Monday and took off for Mumbai. Local French authorities said that 276 of the original 303 passengers boarded the flight to India, and 25 others requested asylum in France.
The asylum-seekers, who include five children, were transferred to a special zone in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport for processing, it said.
The passengers grounded in France had included a 21-month-old child and several unaccompanied minors.
The remaining two passengers were initially detained as part of a human trafficking investigation but were released Monday after appearing before a judge, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. The judge named them as ‘’assisted witnesses” to the case, a special status under French law that allows time for further investigation and could lead to eventual charges or to the case being dropped.
Prosecutors wouldn’t comment on whether the passengers’ ultimate destination could have been the U.S., which has seen a surge in Indians crossing the Mexico-U.S. border this year.
French authorities are working to determine the aim of the original flight, and opened a judicial inquiry into activities by an organized criminal group helping foreigners enter or stay in a country illegally, the prosecutor’s office said.
It did not specify whether human trafficking — which the U.N. defines as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit” — is still suspected.
Some lawyers at Sunday’s hearings protested authorities’ handling of the situation and the passengers’ rights, suggesting that police and prosecutors overreacted to the anonymous tip.
The Indian Embassy tweeted its thanks to French officials for ensuring that the Indians could go home.
Legend Airlines lawyer Liliana Bakayoko said some passengers didn’t want to go to India because they had paid for a tourism trip to Nicaragua. The airline has denied any role in possible human trafficking.
The U.S. government has designated Nicaragua as one of several countries deemed as failing to meet minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking. Nicaragua has also been used as a migratory springboard for people fleeing poverty or conflict because of relaxed or visa-free entry requirements for some countries. Sometimes charter flights are used for the journey.
