Indians Stuck In France, Grounded Plane Free To Leave Today

A plane carrying several Indian passengers detained near Paris due to suspected human trafficking is free to leave today, a French court ruled on Sunday. But it is not clear if the plane will return to India.

The Nicaragua-bound plane has 303 passengers, mostly Indians, according to the Indian embassy. An anonymous tip-off over human trafficking led to its grounding at the Vatry airport when it arrived from Dubai for refuelling.

French prosecutors on Sunday allowed the Airbus A340 to leave France after questioning the passengers for two days. A full approval for their departure is expected today, the local prefecture said in a statement.

Vatry in eastern France is about 150 km from Paris and the airport serves mostly budget airlines. The grounded Airbus A340 belongs to a Romanian charter company named Legend Airlines.

A lawyer claiming that she represents the Legend Airlines said the company believed it had done nothing wrong, had committed no offence "and is at the disposal of the French authorities". She said the airline will take legal action if charges are filed.