A plane carrying hundreds of Indian nationals has landed in Mumbai, four days after it was detained in France over suspected human trafficking.
The chartered Airbus A340 with 303 passengers, mostly Indians, was detained inside the rural Valtry airport in Champagne on Thursday. The flight from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was en route to Nicaragua, a Central American country.
French authorities grounded the plane due to suspicions of human trafficking during a refuelling stop.
The flight landed at Mumbai airport with 276 passengers. Twenty-five, including some minors, requested asylum in France, and two others were briefly detained.
The flight left from east of Paris on Monday and landed after nearly 29 hours, just after 4am local time on Tuesday, aviation tracking website Flightradar24 showed.
Pictures and videos showed passengers, mostly young men, coming out of the flight wearing masks, carrying luggage, and sitting in a waiting lounge before being allowed to leave.
The passengers avoided speaking to the media when approached at the airport upon their return.
Officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport said that some passengers were allowed to leave, while others were held back for interrogation.
Parisian prosecutors said the passengers were held at Châlons-Vatry Airport after authorities received an anonymous tip-off that some passengers might be “victims of human trafficking”, according to Le Monde newspaper.
Several of the passengers were believed to be Indian citizens working in the UAE, with a third of them reported to be from India’s western state of Gujarat.
French authorities reportedly suspected that the passengers’ final destination would have been the US or Canada after travelling to Nicaragua.
More than 200 passengers arrived in India on Tuesday— (REUTERS)
Judicial sources told the French newspaper that authorities are investigating the case for violation of immigration laws but have ruled out suspicion of human trafficking.
Two passengers who were held back for investigation were brought before the court but were released after it was established that they had boarded the plane of their own free will.
Among the 25 people who sought asylum in France, several are minors.
French authorities are also working to determine the purpose of the original flight and have opened a judicial inquiry into activities by an organised criminal group that assists foreigners in entering or staying in a country illegally, as stated by the prosecutor’s office.
The Indian embassy in Paris, which was providing support to the passengers, thanked French authorities for working through the Christmas holiday weekend.
French customs officers stand next to a customs car with an Airbus A340 in the background which was grounded on the tarmac since 21 December over suspected ‘human trafficking’— (AFP via Getty Images)
“Thank French Gov and Vatry Airport for quick resolution of the situation enabling Indian passengers to return home & hospitality. Also for working closely with embassy team, present throughout at the site to ensure welfare and smooth & safe return. Thank agencies in India, too,” the Indian embassy in Paris wrote in a post on X/Twitter.
The incident sparked chaotic scenes at the airport on Thursday, with police requisitioning Vatry Airport for the day and the terminal filling up with media and local officials.
Several volunteers installed cots and ensured regular meals and showers for those held inside for days.
It turned into a makeshift courtroom on Sunday as judges, lawyers and interpreters carried out emergency hearings to determine the next steps.
During Sunday’s hearings, some lawyers expressed objections to the authorities’ management of the situation and the passengers’ rights, suggesting that the police and prosecutors may have overreacted in response to the anonymous tip.
Legend Airlines lawyer Liliana Bakayoko said some passengers did not want to return to India because they had paid for a tourism trip to Nicaragua.
Indian passengers who travelled in an unmarked Legend Airlines A340 from Vatry Airport in France— (AP)
The airline denied any role in possible human trafficking suspicions.
Amid a surge in Indians crossing the Mexico-US border this year, the US government has designated Nicaragua as one of the countries that have failed to meet minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking.
Nicaragua has served as a migration launchpad for individuals escaping poverty or conflict, facilitated by lenient or visa-free entry requirements in certain countries.
It comes as India has extended an invitation to French president Emmanuel Macron to be the chief guest at the country’s national day celebrations on 26 January.
Mr Macron, who had invited Indian prime minister Narendra Modi as a guest of honour for France’s annual Bastille Day parade in Paris this year, called the invitation “an extremely strong gesture”.
