The Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued a show-cause notice to Air India following a significant security breach. Three Italian nationals reportedly boarded a flight from Delhi to Munich without completing the required immigration clearance. This incident raises concerns about airport security protocols and compliance with immigration regulations.
What happened at Delhi airport?
They also had onward boarding passes for the Lufthansa flight to Munich. Under the approved hub-and-spoke procedure, passengers flying from a domestic airport to Delhi and then taking an international flight must follow certain steps at Delhi airport. Instead, they were allegedly taken to the International-to-International (I-to-I) transfer area. They then reached the departure area and boarded the Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing immigration.
The notice, dated September 12, talks about Air India flight AI-1115 from Amritsar to Delhi on September 4. The three passengers — Surjit Singh, Balwinder Kaur and Gurdev Singh — later boarded Lufthansa flight LH-763 to Munich at 1:45 am without going through the required departure immigration process, according to the ministry’s notice seen by HT. The three passengers arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at around 12:50 am after travelling from Amritsar on board Air India flight AI-1115. The three passengers should have exited through Gate 39 and completed immigration before going for their international flight.
The ministry said they had been issued “D” boarding passes for the Amritsar-Delhi sector. Only passengers with an “I” indicator for an international flight should be sent to the I-to-I transfer desk after their identity is checked.
