The government has overhauled the airport security and transit protocols under the hub-and-spoke model following a security breach that allowed three passengers to bypass mandatory exit immigration checks, civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Tuesday.
Also, the flight had a substantial number of transfer passengers who had to rush to the transfer zone. “Among those were the three Italian passengers of Indian origin of which two of them were on wheelchairs. The markings indicate whether a passenger is travelling on an international or domestic sector, and are being checked to ensure passengers are routed through the designated transfer process.
Naidu said the September 4 lapse, in which three Italian passengers of Indian origin arriving from Amritsar bypassed mandatory international departure immigration at Delhi before boarding a flight to Munich, highlighted specific vulnerabilities in the hub-and-spoke international transit framework. The people said additional checks were being carried out at transfer points to verify the nature of a passenger’s onward journey and ensure that those required to undergo immigration do not bypass the process Officials said the incoming flight from Amritsar had been significantly delayed which turned chaotic for transfer passengers on September 4.
“The incident has helped the ministry identify weaknesses in the system and a stronger ecosystem has subsequently been created,” Naidu said, adding that the ministry also revised the processes including how boarding cards are issued, the role of Digi Yatra and how passengers move through a connecting airport. Naidu also said that Air India personnel found responsible for escorting the transfer passengers through designated airport pathways were immediately suspended following an internal probe but did not elaborate. People familiar with the matter said the minister’s remarks about the suspension of two personnel referred to two personnel of a gateway services provider AISTATS, a joint venture between Air India Limited of the TATA Group and SATS Limited. The lapse occurred at this time,” an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. As part of the interim arrangement, airline staff have been directed to pay closer attention to the ‘I’ and ‘D’ indicators on boarding passes of transfer passengers, an official said.
