Air India aircraft, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Air India is facing a show-cause notice from the Civil Aviation Ministry after three passengers skipped immigration checks at Delhi airport.
The three Italian passengers had travelled from Amritsar to Delhi on Air India flight AI-1115 on September 4, before boarding a Lufthansa flight to Munich without immigration clearance.
The ministry called it a ‘serious security and immigration-related lapse’, prompting a stakeholder meeting called by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Air India’s hub-and-spoke arrangement allows some passengers to clear immigration at the origin airport, but the three were reportedly not travelling on an eligible connection.
The airline must now respond formally to the notice, detailing the lapse and its planned corrective action.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has termed the incident a ‘serious security and immigration-related lapse’ in its notice to the airline.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has called a meeting of key stakeholders to examine how the passengers were able to move into the international transfer area without completing immigration checks.
Under Air India’s hub-and-spoke model, passengers travelling from a spoke airport to an international destination through a hub can sometimes complete immigration formalities at the origin airport, but the three passengers were reportedly not travelling under an eligible Air India connection.
Show-cause notices require airlines to formally respond to regulators explaining the lapse and the corrective steps being taken, with further action possible depending on the response.
Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport handles a significant share of India’s international transfer traffic, making procedural lapses there a particular concern for aviation security.
Airport immigration procedures are designed to ensure that international transfer passengers are properly screened and documented before entering a connecting flight’s international zone.
The incident adds to a series of recent regulatory scrutiny episodes involving Air India, ranging from flight delays to safety and operational reviews.
Indian aviation authorities have periodically tightened protocols at major hub airports following lapses of this kind, particularly involving cross-airline international connections.
Air India aircraft, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
