Bound For Managua, They Land In Mumbai

The Nicaragua bound charter Legend Airlines Airbus A340 flight, that was grounded at Vatry airport in France for four days on suspicion of human trafficking, arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday, December 26, 2023.

The plane, with 276 passengers on board, mostly Indians, landed in Mumbai around 4 am.

The plane was en route from Fujairah airport in the United Arab Emirates to Managua, Nicaragua.

It landed at Vatry for refuelling where the French police received an anonymous tip-off of suspected human trafficking. Two individuals were taken into custody before a French judge ruled that the flight could take off from Vatry.

Instead of its original destination -- Managua in central America -- the flight decided to head to Mumbai.

The passengers were quizzed by Central Industrial Security Force officers on their arrival.

IMAGE: Passengers from the Nicaragua bound flight leave the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj international airport in Mumbai. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

IMAGE: A passenger from the flight evades the media as he leaves the airport. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

IMAGE: Another passenger evades the media. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

IMAGE: A passenger leaves the airport. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters

IMAGE: The passengers who arrived in Mumbai, here and below. Photograph: ANI Photo

Photograph: ANI Photo

IMAGE: The passengers exit the airport. Photograph: ANI Photo

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com