The Airbus A340 is expected to leave the airport on Monday after receiving approval from the French Civil Aviation Authority.
A plane carrying more than 300 Indian passengers that had been held at an airport in France since Thursday has been cleared to depart following an investigation into human trafficking allegations, French authorities said.
French prosecutors on Sunday gave the green light for the plane to depart from Vatry airport, 150 km (95 miles) east of Paris, after two days of questioning passengers about allegations they could be victims of human trafficking.
The Airbus A340 is expected to depart on Monday after receiving final approval for the departure from the French Civil Aviation Authority. A lawyer for Romania-based Legend Airlines said most of the stranded passengers would return to India.
Two passengers have been arrested since Friday as authorities investigate whether they traveled for a different purpose than the other passengers and “under what conditions and with what objectives.”
According to the local government, several other passengers have applied for asylum in France.
The Nicaragua-bound plane was detained after it stopped to refuel in Vatry en route from Fujairah airport in the United Arab Emirates after authorities received an anonymous tip that it may have human trafficking victims on board.
The flight's passengers, including a 21-month-old child, have since been confined at the airport, where beds, toilets and showers have been installed for their stay, according to local authorities.
After police grounded the plane, authorities turned the airport into a makeshift courtroom as judges, lawyers and translators filled the terminal to hold emergency hearings to determine whether the passengers could be held longer.
The Indian Embassy in Paris said on X on Saturday that consular staff were working with French authorities to “quickly resolve the situation.”
Francois Procureur, president of the Châlons-en-Champagne bar association, told local television that the hearings were “unprecedented.”
“I am surprised at how things have turned out in the waiting area,” Procureur told BFM Television. “People should have been informed of their rights, but that clearly wasn’t the case.”