Explained | 'Donkey flights': What it means and the modus operandi behind risky border crossings

Brad Pitt's unfortunate Achilles' tendon injury occurred while portraying the legendary Greek hero Achilles in the 2004 epic Troy.

A sort of unexpected parallel between fiction and reality.

Going further into the past, the demise of martial arts icon Bruce Lee in 1973 coincided tragically with the production of Game of Death.

And now... yet again, in a sheer coincidence, the grounding of a 'donkey flight' in France carrying 303 Indian passengers took place on December 21, the same day when the Indian movie Dunki starring actors Shah Rukh Khan and Taapsee Pannu was released. The film deals with illegal migration.

This is one of those events that converged in their timings purely by chance. Much chatter has been ongoing about what are 'donkey flights' and what is the modus operandi behind them.

The movie Dunki showed a group of friends attempting to reach the United Kingdom through a 'donkey route' or, if one is to put it simply, a treacherous journey.

But they are not travelling on real donkeys, are they?

The use of donkey flights by undocumented immigrants can be traced back to an era when peoplerelied on donkeys for travel, a practice considered unconventional in today's world of planes, trains, and automobiles.

However, it's crucial to understand that travelling on donkeys held a distinctive allure for many and endured through the centuries. This mode of transport was once a predominant method for navigating difficult terrains.

Here, 'difficult terrain' would mean places you can go easily through legal means.

Today, the term 'donkey flights,' with its humorous undertone, means employing illegal ways so that individuals can reach places where their legal entry is challenging.

This phenomenon, largely prevalent in India's northern state of Punjab, involves unscrupulous travel agencies exploiting the dreams of people to emigrate.

It often involves sham travel agents exploiting people financially. Some even go to the extent of selling all their assets to pay these agents to enter Western nations like the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

In Dunki movie, the route was through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey while the Nicaragua-bound flight in the recent real incident originated from Dubai and did a stopover in France for refueling. Suspicious authorities blocked the plane's onward journey.

Origins of 'donkey flights'

The term "donkey flight" finds its roots in the native language of Punjabi where it means the act of hopping from place to place.

This illegal migration method has become synonymous with the exploitation of vulnerable individuals who, driven by the allure of international travel, fall prey to deceitful promises made by unscrupulous agencies.

Many desperate families invest funds, pinning their hopes on promised visas.

Modus Operandi of the conmen

The tactics employed by these conmen vary but often follow a similar pattern.

Migrants, usually unskilled labourers, employ "donkey flight" to enter the UK through other European Union countries.

The process involves migrants paying travel agents for visas to Schengen zone countries, which allow unrestricted travel among most European Union member states.

Subsequently, "consultants" in Schengen countries aid migrants in reaching the United Kingdom, which has separate visa restrictions.

The agents further provide forged documents, including residency permits and driving licenses, for those willing to pay.Some migrants enter the USA through these means.

Movies exploring 'donkey flights'

The prevalence of donkey flights has not gone unnoticed in popular media as well.

Several films have explored the stories of individuals attempting to reach their dream destinations through these illegal routes.

The 2017 film Comrade in America revolved around the protagonist's donkey flight to reach the United States while the 2022 Punjabi film Aaja Mexico Challiye depicted the protagonist's endeavour to reach the United States through a donkey route.

The recent grounding of the donkey flight in France, originating from Nicaragua and carrying 303 Indian passengers, raised eyebrows over alleged human trafficking suspicions.

While the conventional legal route involves obtaining visas for education and work in countries like the US and UK, the 'donkey flight' method is chosen by those who cannot do so through legal or financial means.

Central American countries such as Mexico and Nicaragua are commonly perceived as the easy nations from where one can land in the US without much hassle.

According to a recent report presented during India's winter parliamentary session which cited US homeland security data, US authorities encountered over 200,000 illegal Indian immigrants in the past five years, with the highest number, 96,917 cases, reported in 2022-23.

(With inputs from agencies)