A ROMANIAN aircraft carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, on Monday left for India four days after they were detained by the French authorities at an airport near Paris over suspected “human trafficking.” “The plane, which had been grounded since Thursday, departed shortly after 14:30 pm (local time),” BFM TV, a French news broadcast television and radio network, reported. The Nicaragua-bound charter flight that took off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates carrying 303 passengers was grounded at the Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, on Thursday over suspected “human trafficking”. The passengers include a 21-month-old child and 11 unaccompanied minors. On Sunday, the French authorities allowed the A340 aircraft, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, to resume its journey. According to the Marne prefecture, the plane had 276 passengers on board.

 

Indeed, 25, including two minors, have expressed the wish to apply for asylum and are therefore still on French soil. Two others, who were brought before a judge on Monday, have been released and placed on assisted witness status, the channel said. The asylum application will be analysed at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport. Earlier, the plane was expected to take off around 10 in the morning. However, the departure of the aircraft was delayed as some of the passengers did not want to return to their country of origin, media reports said. “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 France said in a post on X. It is reported that the plane will first land in the UAE and then proceed to Mumbai. The situation was for a while confusing, according to the airline’s lawyer, Liliana Bakayoko. Speaking to BFMTV, she said that some passengers did not want to return to their country of origin and that they had refused to board the plane initially this Monday morning.