An airplane carrying over 300 passengers of Indian nationality, detained since Thursday at an airport near Paris due to suspicions of human trafficking, took off on Monday bound for Bombay (India), as confirmed by French authorities.
The Airbus 340, traveling from the United Arab Emirates to Nicaragua, was halted during a refueling stop at Vatry Airport and departed with 276 of the initial 303 passengers on board, as 25 requested asylum in France and two were detained for questioning.
The Airbus A340 belonging to the Romanian company Legend Airlines, originating from the United Arab Emirates and bound for Nicaragua, was detained during a technical layover at Vatry Airport, approximately 150 km east of Paris, following an «anonymous report» suggesting that some passengers might be victims of «human trafficking».
After two days of interrogating the passengers, French authorities authorized the departure of the plane on Sunday.
«This morning, we obtained authorization for the flight from Indian authorities, but we are still awaiting a time slot,» said Liliana Bakayoko, the airline’s lawyer, shortly before the plane took off.
The company obtained authorizations for 301 out of the 303 passengers on the flight, «except for the two individuals detained», clarified Bakayoko.
Two passengers have been detained since Friday to «verify» whether they had a «different» role compared to the other travelers.
These two men, born in 2000 and 1984, will appear before a judge on Monday and could be charged with conspiracy as part of an organized group to help undocumented foreigners enter the country, as well as association with an unlawful organization, as reported by the prosecution.
Among the asylum seekers who remained in France are five of the eleven unaccompanied minors from the flight, according to a local educational support association that will take care of these minors.
From Nicaragua to the United States or Canada
According to counsel Bakayoko, «several people do not want to go to India, they are very unhappy, they want to go to Nicaragua», in a trip that some passengers questioned on Sunday said was for tourism purposes.
A source close to the investigation specified that the passengers, likely Indian workers in the Emirates, aimed to reach Central America to then try to head north from there and irregularly enter the United States or Canada.
Throughout the investigation, the passengers stayed at the airport in areas arranged by civil protection services, equipped with individual beds, bathrooms, and showers.
Authorization for the plane’s departure was granted after the court annulled the detention of three of the passengers at the airfield.
One of the judges involved in the case deemed the 11-hour delay between immobilizing the plane and referring the matter to a magistrate as «a disproportionate violation of individual rights».
The crew members, 15 for the Dubai-Vatry leg and 14 or 15 for the Vatry-Managua connection, were allowed to leave freely after being questioned.
According to the specialized website Flightradar, Legend Airlines is a small company that possesses a fleet of four aircraft.
