On 22 August an EasyJet flight between Athens and Palma de Mallorca, saw six passengers suspected of being involved in human trafficking refused carriage.
Aviation24.be says that the passengers were not in possession of appropriate documentation, leading to refused carriage for 6 passengers.
The flight eventually departed Athens International Airport, officially named “El. Venizelos” after a delay of almost three hours.
HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN ATHENS
The publication says that two individuals were indeed removed from EasyJet flight U27380 on 22 August.
Greek police boarded the plane and two removed passengers who were not carrying appropriate travel documentation.
Then, to locate a third “irregular traveller”, all passengers were forced to disembark the Easyjet aircraft for a further document check.
Another three passengers were denied boarding at the boarding gate as their documentation was not in order.
These events had an impact on the flight’s passengers. This is because the aircraft could not depart on schedule.
SYNDICATES OPERATING IN GREECE
Aviation24.be reports that the incident could be linked to a human trafficking network operating in Greece.
In November last year, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) reported that Belgian and Greek authorities had eradicated a criminal network involved in human trafficking.
GREEK HUMAN TRAFFICKING
According to investigations, the migrants who were mainly Iraqi nationals, were illegally brought into Greece.
From here trafficking syndicates helped them to reach Belgium by providing them with false or duplicated documents.
Athens Airport served as an entry point to Europe for these individuals.
AIRLINES AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Airlines are often unintentionally involved in human trafficking.
Thus, it is essential that airline personnel carry out thorough document checks at airports.
Airlines must also train their staff to look for signs of human trafficking when handling passengers.
Kenya Airlines is indeed an African airline that strives to prevent such scenarios from occurring on its flights.
