India, France, UAE worked as team to bring back flight
France and the UAE to bring back the flight which was grounded at the Vatry airport, east of Paris, over suspected human trafficking.
It was a tip-off, described as anonymous, from the UAE that enabled France to halt the Romanian Airlines chartered flight at an airport near Paris on suspicion of human trafficking.
Subsequently, India and France worked closely to rescue Indians who were then deported back to Mumbai.
The Indian Embassy team at the Vatry airport in France coordinated with the French authorities while the local administration acted on the matter swiftly to resolve the issue within five days, sources explained. The matter being resolved at a fast pace also reflects the quality of the partnership between New Delhi and Paris as such cases of human trafficking may drag on for days and months.
Mentioning the incident, the Indian embassy in Paris thanked the local administration on X and said that it was grateful for the «quick resolution» of the incident.
The Airbus A340 carrying 303 Indians was bound for Nicaragua when it was detained last Thursday at the Vatry airport where it had stopped for refueling.
It had arrived from Dubai and there was a tip-off that it was carrying potential victims of human trafficking. It is understood that the tip-off was not merely a coincidence but an effort by authorities in Dubai which wanted to prevent human trafficking.
The UAE and France share close ties and this was the first such situation that was handled by the three countries together.
