Archive · 16 Sep 2026
Probe Ordered After Italian Passengers Skip Delhi Immigration
Three Italian passengers flew from Amritsar to Delhi and then planned to go to Munich.
They were supposed to complete immigration checks in Delhi before taking the international flight.
Instead, officials directed them to an international transfer area.
This meant they did not reach the immigration counter.
They were then able to board the Lufthansa flight to Munich.
The flights were not part of the special hub-and-spoke arrangement that could have allowed immigration at Amritsar.
The Home Ministry called the incident a serious security lapse and ordered an investigation.
Air India must explain what happened within seven days.
Three Italian nationals of Indian origin flew from Amritsar to Delhi and then boarded a Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing Delhi immigration formalities.
The passengers traveled on an Air India flight on the night of September 3 and boarded the Lufthansa flight early on September 4.
Officials said the passengers were incorrectly directed to Delhi’s international-to-international transfer area instead of the arrival area and immigration counters.
The civil aviation ministry issued Air India CEO Campbell Wilson a show-cause notice and gave the airline seven days to respond.
The Home Ministry held an emergency meeting and ordered an internal probe into alleged security-protocol and standard-operating-procedure violations.
- Who
- Three Italian nationals of Indian origin—identified as Surjit Singh, Balwinder Kaur and Gurudev Singh—along with Air India, Lufthansa, immigration officials, airport security staff and the civil aviation and Home ministries.
- What
- The passengers boarded a Delhi-to-Munich Lufthansa flight without completing mandatory immigration formalities in Delhi, prompting a probe and a show-cause notice to Air India.
- When
- They traveled from Amritsar on the night of September 3 and boarded the Lufthansa flight early on September 4; Air India has seven days to respond to the notice.
- Where
- The lapse occurred at Delhi airport after the passengers arrived from Amritsar.
- Why
- Officials said the passengers were incorrectly sent to the international transfer area even though their flights were not covered by the hub-and-spoke arrangement, allowing them to bypass immigration checks.
Authorities’ concerns
Air India’s pending explanation
Responsibility for the lapse
Authorities’ concerns
Government officials described the incident as a serious security-protocol and standard-operating-procedure breach, citing failures to segregate domestic and international passengers and monitor the transfer desk.
Air India’s pending explanation
Air India has been asked to explain how its passenger-handling system failed to identify the problem; the reports do not provide the airline’s response.
Passenger routing
Authorities’ concerns
Authorities said the flights were not covered by the hub-and-spoke arrangement, so the passengers should have exited through Delhi’s arrival area and completed immigration before boarding Lufthansa.
Air India’s pending explanation
The passengers received boarding passes for both flights at Amritsar and were directed to the international transfer area after landing in Delhi, according to officials.
- Passengers involved
- Three Italian nationals of Indian origin: Surjit Singh, Balwinder Kaur and Gurudev Singh
- Travel route
- Amritsar to Delhi, followed by Delhi to Munich
- Airlines
- Air India operated the Amritsar-Delhi flight; Lufthansa operated the Delhi-Munich flight
- Date
- Air India flight on the night of September 3; Lufthansa flight early September 4
- Procedural lapse
- Passengers were directed to the international-to-international transfer area without completing Delhi immigration
- Government action
- The Home Ministry ordered an internal probe and the civil aviation ministry issued Air India a show-cause notice
- Response deadline
- Air India was given seven days to submit a written explanation
