Grounded ‘Dunki’ Plane Lands In Mumbai With 276 Indians, 27 Flyers Stay Back In France

New Delhi: an Airbus A340 carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, landed at Mumbai airport on early on Tuesday, ending a four-day halt in France over suspected human trafficking allegations.

The regional administration confirmed that 276 of the original 303 passengers boarded the plane, while 25 others requested asylum in France. The aircraft took off from Vatry airport near Paris around 2.30 pm local time, and arrived in Mumbai shortly after 4 am.

The Indian Embassy posted its thanks on X, formerly Twitter, to French officials for ensuring that the Indians could go home.

The flight, en route to Nicaragua from Dubai, was grounded by French authorities after it  landed at Vatry on Thursday for a technical stopover after an anonymous tip that the passengers were “likely to be victims of human trafficking”. The probe thereafter revealed that there were 11 unaccompanied minors among 303 passengers.

Two others were held and produced before a judge before being released and placed on assisted witness status, a French news channel said.

According to news agency AFP sources, the plane may be linked to a crime syndicate attempting to smuggle individuals into the United States. US Customs and Border Patrol data showed a significant rise in Indians attempting illegal entry into the US, with many opting for ‘dunki’ flights to Nicaragua or other countries with lenient travel document policies, PTI reported.

Nearly 97 lakh Indians have tried to enter the US illegally in the financial year 2023, a whopping 51.61 percent jump from the previous year.

French authorities, however, are probing the case for immigration law violation, not human trafficking any more, reports said, citing judicial sources.