easyJet flight U27380 on 22 August, linking Athens and Palma de Mallorca, saw at least six passengers attempting to board the plane irregularly. The incident could be linked to a human trafficking network in Greece. Two individuals were removed from the aircraft itself for lacking the “correct travel documentation,” while three others were detected in the boarding area and were not allowed to board. To locate the last irregular traveller, all passengers had to disembark.
The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) reported in November 2023 that Belgian and Greek authorities had dismantled a criminal network involved in trafficking irregular migrants. The operation resulted in 11 arrests and 16 searches, two of which took place in Greek travel agencies.
According to investigations, the migrants – mainly Iraqis in this case – were illegally brought to Greece, from where the criminal organisation moved them to Belgium, providing them with false or duplicated documents. The Greek airport served merely as an entry point to Europe for these individuals.
The police-intervened flight on August 22 shares certain similarities with the modus operandi of such networks, though investigations are still ongoing and no hypothesis has been ruled out.
The flight eventually departed Athens airport, with a delay of around three hours.
This post was published on 31 August 2024 22:18
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