Working with France after plane with 300 Indians grounded: India
India has said it is working with the French government for an early solution after a charter flight carrying over 300 people, mostly Indians, was detained by France on Friday. It was grounded at Marne's Chalons-Vatry airport over suspicions of human trafficking. Taking to X, the Indian embassy in France on Saturday said its consular staff are at the airport while thanking the "French authorities for working on this through the long holiday weekend."
Why does this story matter?
France grounded the Nicaragua-bound flight carrying as many as 303 passengers on Friday over alleged human trafficking. The plane had taken off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and halted at eastern France's Chalons-Vatry airport for a technical stopover. Per the Paris public prosecutor's office, a unit specializing in organized crime is probing the matter. Two individuals were earlier detained for questioning.
Some passengers interested in applying for asylum
According to Le Monde, the Marne department's civilian protection division said the flight had 13 unaccompanied minors and accompanied minors. Their ages range between 21 months and 17 years. Aurore Opyrchal, a lawyer appointed to represent some passengers, told AFP that six of them have shown interest in applying for asylum. The Airbus A340 aircraft, operated by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines, "remained grounded on the tarmac at Vatry airport following" on Thursday (local time), per an official statement.
French anti-organized crime unit takes over probe
The public prosecutor's office in Paris revealed that authorities swung into action after receiving an anonymous tipoff regarding some passengers on the flight being "victims of human trafficking." Authorities have also confirmed that France's national anti-organized crime division, JUNALCO, has taken over the probe. The Indian passengers onboard the charter flight might have purportedly planned the travel to reach Central America from where they could attempt to enter Canada or the United States (US) illegally.
Border police can hold passengers for up to 26 days
Notably, the French border police can detain a foreign national suspected of committing such offenses for up to four days if they land in the country and stop them from traveling to their planned destination. The nation's laws also grant the authorities an extension of this period to eight days upon a judge's authorization, another eight days in exceptional circumstances, and up to a maximum of 26 days.
Romanian airline's response to its grounded flight
Liliana Bakayoko, a lawyer for Legend Airlines, stated that all crew members of the grounded flight were allowed to leave by the French authorities after questioning. Earlier, Bakayoko stated that the airline would file a lawsuit if the prosecutors decided to file charges against it. She had also claimed that a customer who chartered Airbus A340 was responsible for checking the identity documents of each passenger.
