3 Italian passengers board Munich flight from Delhi without immigration check; Air India gets notice

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry has issued a show-cause notice to Air India over alleged procedural lapses that allowed three Italian passengers to board a connecting international flight from Delhi without completing immigration formalities, sources said on Monday.

The incident occurred earlier this month after the three passengers travelled from Amritsar to Delhi on an Air India flight on September 4 and subsequently boarded a Lufthansa flight to Munich.

According to the sources, the passengers did not undergo the mandatory immigration process at Delhi airport before boarding the Lufthansa flight.

There was no immediate comment from Air India on the incident.

The ministry has sought an explanation from Air India CEO Campbell Wilson over the alleged procedural lapses, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has called a meeting of stakeholders on Tuesday to discuss the incident.

Home Secretary Govind Mohan will chair the meeting, the sources said.

Senior officials, including the Secretary and Additional Secretary of the Civil Aviation Ministry, Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Additional Secretary (UT and Foreigners) of the Home Ministry, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner, Air India CEO and Delhi airport CEO, are expected to attend the meeting.

The incident has raised questions about the handling of connecting passengers at Delhi airport, particularly those travelling on itineraries involving different airlines.

Amritsar airport is among the airports where Air India has introduced its 'Hub-and-Spoke' model, under which passengers can complete immigration formalities at the origin airport before travelling to an overseas destination.

Under this system, passengers arriving at the hub airport from which their international flight departs are required to undergo security checks before boarding their onward flight.

For instance, in a journey from Amritsar to a foreign destination via Delhi, Amritsar serves as the spoke airport while Delhi functions as the hub.

However, the three Italian passengers in this case were travelling on flights that did not fall under Air India's 'Hub-and-Spoke' arrangement, according to the sources.

They were issued boarding passes at Amritsar for both their flight to Delhi and the subsequent Lufthansa flight to Munich.

As the itinerary did not qualify under the hub-and-spoke process, the passengers were required to exit through the arrival area at Delhi airport and complete immigration formalities before proceeding to the Lufthansa flight.

Instead, after landing in Delhi, they were directed to the international transfer area. As a result, they did not reach the immigration counter and boarded the Munich-bound flight without completing the required immigration process, the sources said.

Air India and Lufthansa have an interline partnership. Such agreements generally allow passengers to book connecting flights operated by different airlines under a single itinerary.