The Ministry of Civil Aviation has sought answers from Air India over how three Italian nationals managed to board an international flight from Delhi to Munich without completing mandatory immigration clearance.
What happened at Delhi airport?
Lufthansa operated the flight that took the passengers out of India, but the alleged lapse occurred during the passenger-handling and transfer process covered by the Air India procedure. The three passengers — Surjit Singh, Balwinder Kaur and Gurdev Singh — arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on September 4 after travelling from Amritsar on Air India flight AI-1115. READ ALSO | Home Ministry calls urgent meet after 3 Italians skip immigration at Delhi airport, fly to Munich The notice questions why Air India issued onward boarding passes for the Lufthansa flight at Amritsar. The three Italian nationals 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.
The three passengers had “D” boarding passes for their Amritsar-Delhi journey on board Air India flight AI-1115 on September 4. The ministry asked why they were still allowed to enter the International-to-International (I-to-I) transfer area, which was meant for international passengers with an “I” indicator. The ministry said the approved hub-and-spoke procedure does not provide for issuing such an onward boarding pass at the spoke airport. They had “D” boarding passes for the domestic flight and onward boarding passes for Lufthansa flight LH-763 to Munich, which departed at 1:45 am.
The passengers should have exited through the designated arrival area and completed departure immigration before taking their international flight. The ministry asked why they were instead escorted through the I-to-I route. They also had onward boarding passes for the Lufthansa flight to Munich.
Earlier reporting noted: 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. Earlier reporting noted: 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.
Earlier reporting noted: The ministry said they had been issued “D” boarding passes for the Amritsar-Delhi sector.
