New Delhi: A chartered flight with 303 passengers, mostly of Indian origin, was detained by France at the Châlons Vatry airport in the northeast of the country, the Indian embassy in Paris confirmed Friday.
The flight — operated by a Romanian charter company called Legend Airlines — was on its way to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, from Dubai. The airline has reportedly denied any role in human trafficking.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) Friday, the Indian embassy in Paris confirmed that it had obtained consular access and was investigating the situation.
French authorities informed us of a plane w/ 303 people, mostly Indian origin, from Dubai to Nicaragua detained on a technical halt at a French airport. Embassy team has reached & obtained consular access. We are investigating the situation, also ensuring wellbeing of passengers.
— India in France (@IndiaembFrance) December 22, 2023
French authorities have launched an investigation into the conditions and purpose of the trip, Reuters reported Friday.
Two people have been taken into custody for interrogation, while a unit specialised in organised crime is probing allegations of human trafficking, the Paris public prosecutor’s office said. It added that the authorities acted on an “anonymous” tipoff, Reuters reported
The flight was reported to have left Dubai before making a technical stop at Vatry in France. However, Flightradar24 — a global flight tracking service — showed that the aircraft took off from Fujairah International Airport, Fujairah (IATA Code: FJR), on 21 December at 09.54 am (UAE time) and landed at Vatry (IATA Code: XCR) at 2.56 pm (Paris time).
Sources familiar with the matter said that minors were among the passengers and that they might have planned to travel to Central America to attempt illegal entry into the US, according to a report by AFP.
ThePrint reached the airline Friday via calls and emails but received no response at the time of publication of this report. The report will be updated if an answer is received.
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Airline denies involvement in human trafficking
Lilliana Bakayoko, who identified herself as a lawyer for Legend Airlines, spoke to the French television channel BFM Business and denied any role in human trafficking by the charter company.
“The company is not accused of anything…this situation causes significant harm, and is an attack on reputation. We hope that it will be quickly and officially confirmed that the company is not accused of anything.” she is reported to have said to BFM Business.
Bakayoko also said that the crew were “exonerated” and free to move around. The police reportedly sealed off the entire airport and the passengers were given individual beds in the reception hall.
According to Flightradar24, Legend Airlines has a fleet of about four aircraft.
The airline company says on its website that its fleet consists of Airbus A340-300 aircraft, with a range of about 14,400 km. It only gives details of one aircraft with the registration of YR-LRC that had a capacity of 265 passengers.
However, according to Flightradar24, the aircraft that was detained had the registration of YR-LRE, an Airbus A340-300. Both YR-LRC and YR-LRE have made daily trips between Paris and Managua since at least 15 December, according to Flightradar24.
On 16, 20 and 21 December, aircraft from Legend Airlines were chartered to carry passengers from Fujairah to Managua via both Paris Charles de Gaulle and Châlons Vatry airports, according to Flightradar24.
However, only flights on 15, 16 and 20 December have been confirmed to have landed in Managua from France.
Legend Airlines was established in 2020 in Bucharest, Romania and is an EU-registered airline, according to its website.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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