The North American Airlines plane at Mumbai airport on Sunday. (AFP)

Mumbai, Oct. 18: The Marines have landed — er, been made to land — on the shores of Mumbai.

A Boeing carrying the world’s most storied fighting force was asked to land at Mumbai airport by the Indian Air Force (IAF) today after it emerged that the plane did not have permission to ferry troops over the country.

The plane, belonging to North American Airlines, had been chartered by the US Navy to carry 205 passengers, including some Marines, from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Utapao in Bangkok.

The plane, sources in Mumbai air traffic control said, had a civilian call sign from the directorate-general of civil aviation but did not have the mandatory air operation routing clearance from the IAF.

The routing clearance — AOR in aviation parlance — has to be procured by every foreign plane flying through Indian airspace with military equipment or personnel.

“To top that, some Marines on board were also carrying submachine guns and Glock pistols,” said a CISF officer who had inspected the plane. A source in the US consulate in Mumbai said: “The necessary clearance may have been overlooked inadvertently by the plane as the Marines were going on a holiday to Bangkok.”

The US military central command has a programme called R&R (rest and recuperation) meant for both civilians and combat personnel attached to the defence department. The consulate source added that there was nothing unusual about the presence of weapons as the Marines usually carry light arms even on R&R trips.

Soon after the plane was made to land at 7.52am, diplomatic levers started moving. The plane was eventually cleared for take-off around 2.30pm by the IAF and the civil aviation authority.

“We are pleased that we were able to resolve this procedural matter in an expeditious fashion and appreciate the assistance and co-operation of the Indian authorities,” the US consulate said.

However, the flight could not leave today because of the pilots’ flight duty time limitations. Sources said the plane was expected to leave tomorrow.

Till then, the Marines will stay in a five-star hotel, for which necessary papers have been cleared. “The boys will be put up at the hotel and will do a bit of sightseeing before leaving Mumbai tomorrow,” the consulate source said.

However, an IAF source said the departure had also been delayed because Myanmar — the plane will enter that country’s flight information range while flying to Bangkok — has sought clarifications related to clearances.

It is not every day that the IAF gets a chance to “ground” a force whose arrival has launched countless stories of heroism — some blown out of proportion — and the phrase “the Marines have landed and have the situation well in hand”.

“The exchange between the IAF and the foreign pilot was polite,” said a source, joking that the air force by now must have honed its skills on the subject, considering the frequency with which it has been intercepting such flights.

This is the third foreign plane to be made to land by the IAF in India since June for want of mandatory clearance for carrying arms or soldiers.

Calcutta, too, had to play host to an arms plane bound for China after it was found that the aircraft did not have the requisite papers.