Attorney Liliana Bakayoko of Legend Airline expressed the airline’s desire for a full passenger load on the flight bound for Mumbai scheduled to depart on Monday.
After a four-day delay, a passenger plane carrying 303 Indians en route to Nicaragua, grounded due to a human trafficking investigation, was finally allowed to take off from France’s Vatry Airport in Champagne on Sunday.
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A lawyer for Legend Airlines, the Romanian airline involved, mentioned that many stranded passengers would be flown back to India on Monday, as reported by The Associated Press. Regional prosecutor Annick Browne informed that a local official was completing last-minute paperwork to facilitate the departure of some travelers from the small Vatry Airport on Christmas Eve.
Since Thursday, all passengers, including a 21-month-old child, had been stranded in the airport terminal. In connection with a French investigation into potential human trafficking by an organized criminal group, two passengers were detained, while several others applied for asylum in France.
Eleven passengers, identified as unaccompanied minors by prosecutors, were placed under special administrative care. Here is an overview of the situation regarding the grounded plane carrying Indians in France:
- The Airbus A340 bound for Nicaragua, carrying Indian passengers, was detained at Vatry airport on Thursday following an anonymous tip suggesting possible human trafficking.
- During the investigation, passengers were accommodated at the airport with beds, restrooms, and showers provided, while media and outsiders were restricted from accessing the airport.
- Paris prosecutors claimed that 11 unaccompanied minors were among the passengers, and twelve passengers sought asylum.
- The Indian embassy in Paris announced its consular staff’s assistance to French authorities for the well-being of detained passengers.
- Legend Airline, with only four operated aircraft per Flightradar24, faced challenges with the Dubai-Vatry leg and the subsequent Managua flight.
- Dutch prosecutors granted permission for the plane to depart on Sunday after two days of passenger questioning, with full approval expected on Monday.
- Emergency hearings were held at the airport terminal, turning it into a makeshift courtroom to decide whether to extend the passengers’ seclusion, but a disagreement over the entry process led to an inconclusive hearing.
- The airline’s seizure order was lifted on Sunday morning, allowing potential rerouting of passengers in the waiting area, and the French Civil Aviation Authority worked to secure required permits for the aircraft’s departure.
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Notably, the US experienced a significant increase in the arrest of Indian citizens for illegal entry from Mexico, reaching 41,770 in the expenditure year ending on September 30, compared to 18,308 the previous year.