Politics · India · 1 hr ago
India changes boarding procedures after Delhi immigration lapse
India has changed procedures for passengers connecting between flights operated by different airlines, including interline and codeshare trips.
Under the new process, these passengers will receive their second boarding pass at the connecting airport, after completing immigration.
Their baggage will still be checked in and tagged for the full journey at the airport where they start.
Air India’s hub-and-spoke connections will keep issuing both boarding passes at the starting airport.
The changes follow an incident at Delhi airport on September 4, when three Italian passengers bound for Munich boarded a Lufthansa flight without completing immigration formalities.
They had been given boarding passes for both flights in Amritsar, even though their journey did not qualify for the hub-and-spoke process.
Delhi airport has added counters, and airlines have assigned more staff to checks at boarding and transfer areas.
India has revised boarding procedures after three Italian passengers boarded a Delhi-to-Munich flight without completing immigration formalities.
For interline and codeshare journeys, the second boarding pass will now be issued at the connecting airport after immigration.
Air India hub-and-spoke passengers will continue to receive both boarding passes at their originating airport.
Delhi airport has added counters, and airlines have deployed staff to strengthen checks at boarding and transfer areas.
- Who
- The central government, airlines and airport authorities are changing the procedures.
- What
- The second boarding pass for interline and codeshare passengers will be issued at the connecting airport after immigration.
- When
- The revised procedures follow an immigration lapse on September 4. The article was published on October 12, 2026.
- Where
- The lapse occurred at Delhi airport, during a journey from Amritsar to Delhi and onward to Munich.
- Why
- Three passengers boarded a connecting flight without completing mandatory immigration formalities.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Under the revised procedure, the second boarding pass for interline and codeshare passengers will be issued at connecting airports after immigration, instead of being issued at the originating airport.
Both the passes will be marked as ‘I’ instead of ‘D’ for domestic flights and ‘I’ for international flights.
Three Italian passengers travelling from Amritsar to Delhi boarded a connecting Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing immigration formalities.
The government and airline worked out revised procedures to distinguish interline and codeshare journeys from Air India hub-and-spoke connections.
Hindustan Times reported that the revised process included additional counters at Delhi airport and more airline staff at boarding and transfer areas.
- Passengers involved
- Three Italian passengers
- Incident date
- September 4
- Journey
- Amritsar to Delhi to Munich
- Airline partnership
- Air India and Lufthansa have an interline partnership.
- New pass procedure
- Second pass issued at the connecting airport after immigration for interline and codeshare passengers
Sources
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