3 hrs ago
Three Italians Fly From Delhi Without Immigration; Air India Notified
Three Italian passengers flew from Amritsar to Delhi and then continued to Munich.
They did not complete the immigration check required before leaving India.
Air India gave them boarding passes for both parts of their journey at Amritsar.
At Delhi, they were sent toward the international transfer area instead of the immigration counters.
This allowed them to board the Lufthansa flight without the required check.
Officials said several Air India procedures may not have been followed.
The problem was discovered later when passenger records were checked manually.
Air India has seven days to explain what happened.
Government officials and airport representatives are also expected to discuss the incident.
Three Italian nationals flew from Delhi to Munich on September 4 without completing mandatory immigration clearance.
They arrived from Amritsar on Air India flight AI-1115 and later boarded Lufthansa flight LH-763.
The passengers received domestic and onward Lufthansa boarding passes at Amritsar, but sources differ on whether the first flight was part of Air India’s hub-and-spoke service.
They were routed into Delhi’s international transfer area instead of being directed through arrivals and immigration, with the lapse detected during manual reconciliation.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation issued Air India a seven-day show-cause notice, while the Home Ministry called a stakeholder meeting to examine the incident.
- Who
- Three Italian nationals, Air India, Lufthansa, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Delhi airport stakeholders are involved.
- What
- Three passengers flew from Delhi to Munich without completing immigration clearance, prompting a show-cause notice to Air India.
- Where
- The passengers traveled from Amritsar through Delhi and departed for Munich from Delhi airport.
- When
- The passengers arrived in Delhi around 12:50 a.m. and boarded the Munich flight at about 1:45 a.m. on September 4; the notice was issued on September 12, according to one report.
- Why
- Officials said the passengers were incorrectly routed into the international transfer process and that required boarding-pass, passenger-separation, monitoring, and reconciliation procedures failed.
Government’s concerns
Air India’s position
Responsibility for the routing error
Government’s concerns
The Ministry of Civil Aviation said Air India’s procedures failed because passengers with domestic-designated boarding passes reached the international transfer area without immigration clearance.
Air India’s position
Air India had not publicly commented on the incident or the show-cause notice, so the airline’s explanation was not available.
Applicability of the hub-and-spoke process
Government’s concerns
Officials said the passengers were not eligible for the special process and should have exited through arrivals and completed immigration before taking the Lufthansa flight.
Air India’s position
One account described the Amritsar–Delhi leg as a hub-and-spoke flight, while another said the flights did not qualify for Air India’s hub-and-spoke model, leaving the service classification unclear.
Key facts
- Passengers
- Three Italian nationals
- Domestic flight
- Air India AI-1115 from Amritsar to Delhi
- International flight
- Lufthansa LH-763 from Delhi to Munich
- Incident date
- September 4
- Detection
- The discrepancy was discovered during manual reconciliation of passenger data.
- Regulatory notice
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation issued Air India a show-cause notice.
- Response deadline
- Air India has seven days from receiving the notice to respond.
- Stakeholder meeting
- Home Secretary Govind Mohan was expected to chair a meeting involving civil aviation, immigration, Air India, and Delhi airport officials.
Sources
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