New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued a show-cause notice to Air India after three Italian nationals allegedly boarded a Lufthansa flight from Delhi to Munich without completing mandatory immigration clearance.
The passengers, identified as Surjit Singh, Balwinder Kaur and Gurdev Singh, had arrived in Delhi on Air India flight AI-1115 from Amritsar at around 12:50 am on September 4. They later boarded Lufthansa flight LH-763 to Munich at 1:45 am.
What Went Wrong?
According to the ministry’s notice, the passengers were issued “D” domestic boarding passes for the Amritsar-Delhi sector as well as onward Lufthansa boarding passes at Amritsar.
After arriving in Delhi, they were allegedly escorted through the International-to-International transfer area instead of being sent through immigration.
The ministry said the incident violated several provisions of Air India’s Domestic-International Operations SOP, including rules on boarding passes, passenger segregation and access to the I-to-I transfer facility.
It also questioned the role of Air India and SATS staff, as well as the airline’s monitoring and reconciliation system.
Air India has been given seven days to explain why action should not be taken against it.
Meanwhile, the Home Ministry has called an urgent meeting on September 15 involving senior officials, the Intelligence Bureau, Bureau of Immigration, Air India and Delhi airport authorities.
Delhi International Airport Ltd has said it has not received any show-cause notice and stressed that airport security operates under a multi-agency framework.
