'Donkey' flight, stranded in France, lands in Mumbai. Here is all we know

The Airbus A340 carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, which was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking, landed in Mumbai on Tuesday. The aircraft landed in Mumbai shortly after 4 am. It had taken off from Vatry airport near Paris around 2.30 pm local time. The charter plane run by a Romanian company was detained for four days at Vatry airport near France.

Here are details on the incident:

1) The passengers left Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) only after 8.30 am, after going through stringent rounds of questioning by officials from the Immigration Department as well as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

 

2) Most of the 276 passengers were from Punjab and Haryana and were seen covering their faces with masks and handkerchiefs to avoid scrutiny when exiting the airport. The Indian Express, quoting sources in the CSMIA, reported that the flight was sent by a special arrangement as Romanian-based carrier Legend Airlines doesn't operate any of its aircraft to and from Mumbai.

3) Almost all the passengers were carrying not more than two bags. According to the IE report, the usual bag tags were missing from the checked-in luggage.

4) The Airbus A340, carrying 303 passengers, had taken off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was grounded at the Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris. The aircraft was headed to Nicaragua but was grounded "on a technical halt" by authorities at the Vatry airport in France.

5)The Nicaragua-bound flight carried 276 passengers on board when it took off for Mumbai, and 25 persons, including two minors, told French authorities they wanted to apply for asylum, French officials said. Two others were brought before a judge and placed on assisted witness status.

6) The flight's connection to Nicaragua is worth noting, as the Central American nation has seen a rise in the number of individuals seeking asylum in the United States. There has been a 51.61 per cent jump in the number of Indians attempting to enter the US illegally, according to data from the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). There are records of 96,917 such attempts in 2023.

7) The flight had landed at the Vatry airport to refuel. It was then grounded after a tip-off that the passengers were "likely to be victims of human trafficking". News agency AFP reported that the plane may be linked to a syndicate attempting to smuggle individuals into the US. Further proceedings will now take place under the jurisdiction of France's anti-organised crime unit, JUNALCO.

8) French officials had begun an investigation into the conditions and purposes of the travel of all passengers after the flight was grounded.

9) The passengers were allegedly travelling to Nicaragua from where they would have entered the US and Canada illegally, according to French authorities.

10) The Indian Embassy in France thanked French officials and the Vatry Airport authorities for resolving the situation.