In a late development on Monday, a Nicaragua-bound Airbus A340, carrying 303 passengers, including several Indians, finally took off from a Paris airport. The aircraft had been grounded over alleged links to human trafficking. Reports from the French newspaper Le Monde revealed that the departure occurred after hours of uncertainty surrounding the plane’s status, with conflicting reports suggesting that some passengers resisted returning to their home countries.
Liliana Bakayoko, legal counsel for Romania’s Legend Airlines, to whom the plane is registered, described the situation as confusing. She stated that some passengers were discontented, as they wanted to proceed with their journey to Nicaragua as planned. Earlier in the day, Bakayoko informed PTI that the plane would depart from France at 10 am local time (2:30 PM IST) and land late Monday or early Tuesday, confirming that necessary clearances had been obtained.
Bakayoko indicated that only 200-250 passengers had agreed to return, including those not in police custody or those who had not sought asylum in France. However, later reports from the police suggested that the plane would not depart “before noon.” Notably, at least two passengers were not authorized to leave and were possibly detained, while a dozen others sought asylum. The status of these asylum seekers remains uncertain.
Le Monde reported that the two passengers not authorized to leave may face charges related to conspiring to assist undocumented foreigners in entering the country. Reports suggested that some passengers on the flight spoke Tamil and Hindi.
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The flight, originating from Dubai as a charter service, landed at the airport, located approximately 160 km from Paris, for refuelling. It was subsequently grounded following a tip-off regarding potential human trafficking victims among the passengers.
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