The Ministry of Civil Aviation has sought detailed answers from Air India after three Italian nationals allegedly boarded an international flight from Delhi to Munich without completing mandatory immigration clearance.
The ministry issued a show-cause notice to Air India on September 12, giving the airline seven days to explain how the passengers were allowed to bypass the prescribed immigration process and board the Lufthansa flight.
The case has raised questions over passenger handling, segregation procedures and the roles of Air India and SATS personnel at Amritsar and Delhi airports.
Why were passengers with “D” boarding passes sent to I-to-I?
The three passengers—Surjit Singh, Balwinder Kaur and Gurdev Singh—arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport around 12:50 am on September 4 after travelling from Amritsar on Air India flight AI-1115.
They had “D” boarding passes for their Amritsar-Delhi journey. The ministry has asked why they were nevertheless allowed to enter the International-to-International (I-to-I) transfer area, which is meant for international passengers carrying an “I” indicator.
Why was passenger segregation not followed?
The approved procedure requires domestic and international passengers to be kept separate at the hub airport.
The ministry has questioned why this segregation protocol was not followed when the three passengers arrived in Delhi.
Why were they not sent through immigration?
Under the prescribed process, the passengers should have exited through the designated arrival area, completed departure immigration and then proceeded to the international departure area.
Instead, they were allegedly escorted through the I-to-I route, allowing them to reach the international departure area without completing immigration.
Why were Lufthansa boarding passes issued at Amritsar?
The show-cause notice also questions why Air India issued onward boarding passes for the Lufthansa flight at Amritsar.
According to the ministry, the approved hub-and-spoke procedure does not provide for issuing such an onward international boarding pass at the spoke airport.
What did Air India and SATS staff do?
The ministry has sought details about the roles and responsibilities of Air India and SATS personnel who handled and escorted the passengers at Amritsar and Delhi.
The government is seeking to determine how the passengers were able to move through the airport despite the prescribed procedures.
What was the role of Air India’s nodal officer?
Air India is required to maintain a 24×7 nodal officer and supervisory team to ensure that passengers do not board international flights or leave the country without completing mandatory immigration clearance.
The ministry has asked what the nodal officer and supervisory team were doing when the lapse occurred.
Why was passenger reconciliation not done on time?
The government has also questioned why the required reconciliation of domestic and international passengers was not completed in time at Delhi airport.
Such checks are intended to ensure that passengers travelling internationally have completed the necessary immigration formalities.
Were passenger records correctly submitted?
The ministry has sought clarification on whether the General Declaration, passenger manifest, API/PNR data and other passenger information submitted to immigration authorities were provided on time and accurately reflected the passengers’ movements.
Why did the system fail to catch the lapse?
The government wants to know why the deviation was detected only later through manual reconciliation instead of being identified through the prescribed checks before the passengers reached the international departure area.
The ministry has asked Air India to explain why action should not be taken against it for allegedly violating the approved hub-and-spoke procedure and failing to maintain adequate safeguards against passengers bypassing immigration.
What happened at Delhi airport?
The three passengers travelled from Amritsar to Delhi on Air India flight AI-1115, arriving at around 12:50 am on September 4.
They had “D” boarding passes for the domestic sector and onward boarding passes for Lufthansa flight LH-763 to Munich, which departed at 1:45 am.
Under the approved procedure, they should have exited through Gate 39, completed mandatory immigration clearance and then proceeded to the international departure area.
Instead, they were allegedly escorted to the I-to-I transfer area meant for passengers who had already completed the required international travel formalities. They subsequently reached the departure area and boarded the Lufthansa flight without completing immigration clearance.
The incident has prompted the Union home ministry to convene an urgent meeting of senior officials from the home and civil aviation ministries and other stakeholders on Tuesday evening.
Air India has seven days from the receipt of the show-cause notice to respond. If the airline fails to submit its explanation, the ministry said it may proceed on the basis of available records and consider administrative or regulatory action.
