Thirteen unaccompanied minors are among the more than 300 Indian passengers of a Nicaragua-bound plane held in France over suspected human trafficking, authorities told AFP on Saturday.
The plane has been held at Vatry airport, 150km east of Paris, since arriving from Dubai on Thursday following an anonymous tip-off that it was carrying potential victims of human trafficking.
The civilian protection unit of the Marne department said the Airbus jet was carrying 13 unaccompanied minors as well as accompanied minors with ages ranging from 21 months to 17 years.
French authorities have not yet confirmed the passenger details.
The 303 passengers of the flight operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines were still in the airport’s entrance hall on Saturday morning, an AFP reporter saw.
Tarpaulin covered the entrance hall’s glass exterior and nearby administrative buildings, while police and gendarmes prevented access.
Two passengers were in custody on Friday as part of the investigation.
The Indian Embassy in Paris said Saturday that it was working for “a rapid resolution of the situation”, posting on X that “consular officials are on site”.
Liliana Bakayoko, a lawyer for the airline, said all crew members had been questioned and allowed to leave.
A source close to the inquiry told AFP that some of the Indian passengers were likely workers in the United Arab Emirates who may have sought to go to Nicaragua on their way to the United States or Canada.
Authorities said they have installed camp beds and portable toilets at the airport and are providing meals for the passengers as the inquiry continues.
According to the Flightradar tracking site, Legend Airlines has a fleet of just four aircraft, and its unmarked Airbus jet remained immobilised on the Vatry tarmac on Saturday.
Legend “has operated only a few flights on this route, always for the same client” that is not based in Europe, the airline said in a statement.
It added that it would join any suit as a plaintiff if prosecutors open a case on trafficking charges.
PTI
India on Saturday said it was working with the French government for an early resolution of the situation after a Nicaragua-bound flight carrying 303 people, mostly Indians, was detained by French authorities during a technical halt at an airport near Paris over suspected “human trafficking”.
The plane that took off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates carrying 303 Indian passengers, including many minors, was grounded at the Chalons-Vatry airport in Marne on Thursday.
“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,” the Indian mission said in a post on ‘X’.
“The embassy team has reached & obtained consular access. We are investigating the situation, also ensuring the well-being of passengers,” the mission said on Friday.
On Saturday, the Indian embassy said it was continuing to work with the French government for the welfare of the Indians currently at the Varty airport and for early resolution of the situation.
Embassy consular staff were stationed at the airport, the mission posted on X.
The Chalons-Vatry airport, located 150 kilometres east of Paris, serves mostly budget airlines.
“Thank French authorities for working on this through the long holiday weekend,” it said.
According to a ‘Le Monde’ newspaper report, the civilian protection unit of the Marne department said on Saturday that the plane was carrying 13 unaccompanied minors as well as accompanied minors, with their ages ranging from 21 months to 17 years.
An earlier report noted that France’s national anti-organised crime unit JUNALCO has taken over the investigation.
Special investigators are questioning all those aboard and two people are in custody pending further examination, the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
The prefecture in the northeastern department of Marne said the A340 aircraft, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, “remained grounded on the tarmac at Vatry airport following its landing” on Thursday.
The newspaper report says the prefecture said the plane had been due to refuel and was carrying 303 Indian nationals who had probably been working in the UAE.
According to the reports, the travel may have been planned by the Indian passengers to reach Central America from where they can attempt to enter the United States or Canada illegally.
After landing in France, the passengers were first kept on the aircraft, but then let out and given individual beds in the terminal building. The entire airport was cordoned off by police.
The prosecutor’s office said an anonymous tip signalled that the flight was carrying people who could be victims of human trafficking. Passengers were eventually transferred into the main hall of the small Vatry airport, where cots were set up for them to stay overnight on Thursday, the administration for the Marne region told the newspaper.
Investigators from a specialised French organised crime unit, border police and aviation gendarmes are working on the case.
The aircraft is owned by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines. A lawyer for the firm, Liliana Bakayoko, denied any involvement in the trafficking.
She told French news channel BFMTV that the firm was ready to cooperate with the French authorities and hoped the plane could be on its way in the next couple of days.
Legend Airlines “intervenes as a carrier”, she said, adding that “the flight was carried out for “a client of the company”.
According to the lawyer, the airline verified “the conformity of the documents presented by the client, who must demonstrate that these people have the right to go to Nicaragua, and have valid passports”.
A “partner” company that chartered the plane was responsible for verifying the identity documents of each passenger, and communicated the passengers’ passport information to the airline 48 hours before the flight, Bakayoko told The Associated Press.
“The company cannot check the criminal records of the people transported,” said Bakayoko.
“303 people is not a number that raises alarm. They are not locked in a truck without ventilation and food,” she said.
The airline is “unhappy,” she said, adding: “It is a significant economic loss, but their image also suffers.” She said Legend Airlines “is ready to cooperate as far as possible with the French authorities”.
“We hope that within one or two days maximum the plane will be able to leave,” said the lawyer.
Legend Air has a small fleet of four aircraft, according to the Flightradar website.
French border police can initially hold a foreign national for up to four days if they land in France and are prevented from travelling on to their intended destination.
French law allows for that period to be extended to eight days if a judge approves it, then another eight days in exceptional circumstances, up to a maximum of 26 days.
Human trafficking carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in France.
