New Delhi: French authorities have arrested two Indians aboard the Legend Airlines aircraft detained on 21 December at the Châlons Vatry airport, 150 kilometres North-East of Paris, ThePrint has learnt.
The chartered aircraft carrying 303 passengers, mostly of Indian origin, was detained by French authorities under suspicion of “human trafficking”.
While the remaining passengers have been deported, government sources told ThePrint that a few of those onboard the flight have applied for asylum in France and that the exact number of those detained will be known only once the aircraft lands in India early Tuesday morning.
The Indian Embassy in France in a post on X (formerly Twitter) thanked the French government for “quick resolution of the situation enabling Indian passengers to return home…”.
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.
— India in France (@IndiaembFrance) December 25, 2023
The aircraft operated by Romania-based Legend Airlines and chartered by a non-European company was on its way to Managua, Nicaragua, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as ThePrint reported earlier.
Liliana Bakayoko, a lawyer for Legend Airlines, had earlier told ThePrint that the company had never been accused of wrong-doing.
“The French authorities have released the crew and the pilots. The company has never been accused of committing a tort,” Bakayoko had said.
A tort refers to civil crimes resulting in legal liability for the person committing the crime.
Bakayoko also confirmed that Legend Airlines had in the past operated flights to Nicaragua from the UAE, a fact confirmed by looking at airline records made available by Flightradar24 – a global flight tracking service.
On 15, 16 and 20 December, data made available by Flightradar24, showed at least three flights following the same route from the UAE to Nicaragua via France.
Nicaragua has become a popular destination for those seeking asylum in the US. As many as 96,917 Indians attempted to enter the US illegally in the financial year 2023, signalling a 51.61 percent jump from the previous year, according to data made available by the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
At least 41,770 of those Indians attempted to enter the US via the Mexican land border, CBP data shows. Flights to Nicaragua or third countries where obtaining travel documents are easy have come to be known as “donkey flights”.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)