A plane with 303 Indian passengers detained in France over suspicions of human trafficking was due to leave Monday, December 25, for Mumbai, French judicial officials said. The Nicaragua-bound Airbus A340 and its Indian passengers was held at Vatry airport, 150 kilometers east of Paris, when it arrived Thursday from Dubai for refuelling, after an anonymous tip-off that it was carrying potential victims of human trafficking.
After questioning the passengers for two days, French prosecutors on Sunday gave the go-ahead for the plane to leave. On Monday, the local prefecture confirmed that the plane would indeed take off "but not before noon." Liliana Bakayoko, a lawyer for the airline operating the plane, told Agence France-Presse that the aircraft would fly to Mumbai. It had obtained the necessary clearances, and was waiting for a departure time.
Two passengers are not authorized to leave, and may face charges. They were detained since Friday "to verify" whether their role "may have been different than the others in this transport, and under what conditions and with what objectives." The two were to be taken before a judge Monday and could be charged with conspiring to help undocumented foreigners enter the country, as well as membership in a criminal gang, prosecutors said.
Local authorities said they also expected a dozen or more of the passengers to decline further travel, instead applying for asylum in France. Twelve of the passengers have requested asylum, a source close to the case said. Others protested at the decision to fly to India, saying they demanded to be flown to Nicaragua as promised.
The aircraft was still parked on the tarmac Monday morning, but a gangway has been fitted which would allow passengers to re-board.
The passengers of the flight, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, were put up at the airport during the investigation. Beds, toilets and showers were installed, the local prefecture said, while police have prevented press and outsiders from entering the airport. The passengers included 11 unaccompanied minors, according to Paris prosecutors.
The Indian embassy in Paris Saturday posted on X that "embassy consular staff" were on site to work with French authorities "for the welfare" of detained passengers for an "early resolution of the situation."
The authorization for the plane to leave came after a French court ruled that any further detention of three of the passengers would be illegal. Foreigners can be held up to four days in a transit zone for police investigations in France, after which a special judge must rule on whether to extend that for eight days.