280 Indians Out Of 303 Onboard Grounded Charter Plane Allowed To Fly Out Of France

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A charter plane that was grounded four days ago at Vatry Airport amid claims of human trafficking has now been allowed to fly out of France. The flight had 303 passengers - mostly Indians were heading to Nicaragua. According to a lawyer for the airline, the plane would take many of the stranded passengers back to India, rather than its earlier destination in Nicaragua. Regional prosecutor Annick Browne said that authorities worked through Christmas Eve to clear the formalities. India's embassy in France thanked the French authorities for working over the long Christmas holiday weekend in pursuit of an 'early resolution' of the situation. India was already given consular access to its stranded citizens.

Every individual onboard, including a 21-month-old toddler, had remained confined within the airport terminal since Thursday. A pair of passengers were apprehended as part of a specialized French inquiry into potential human trafficking conducted by an organized criminal faction. Concurrently, multiple others sought asylum in France, as reported by the local administration. French Prosecutors said 11 passengers were unaccompanied minors who were put under special administrative care.

The Legend Airlines A340 plane stopped Thursday for refuelling in Vatry en route from Fujairah airport in the United Arab Emirates to Managua, Nicaragua, and was grounded by police based on an anonymous tip that it could be carrying trafficking victims. It was speculated that the passengers were to enter the United States as their final destination. 

Legend Airlines lawyer Liliana Bakayoko told AP that the company hoped the plane could head to Mumbai on Monday 'with as many passengers as possible'. She estimated around 280 passengers should be able to leave. 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. 

The aircraft is owned by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines. Human trafficking carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in France. On Saturday, India's embassy in France said its staff are stationed at the airport near Paris to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals after the passengers were detained by French authorities over suspected "human trafficking". (With AP, PTI inputs)