Lufthansa boarding pass query to Air India staff's role: Centre's tough questions after 3 Italians skip immigration

Air India has seven days to reply to a show-cause notice issued by the government on Saturday.

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.

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. 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 show-cause notice, seen by HT, was issued on Saturday (September 12) and raises several questions about the airline’s handling of the passengers and the checks in place at Amritsar and Delhi airports.

1. Why were passengers with “D” boarding passes sent to I-to-I?

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.

READ ALSO | Home Ministry calls urgent meet after 3 Italians skip immigration at Delhi airport, fly to Munich

2. Why was passenger segregation not followed?

The approved procedure requires domestic and international passengers to be kept separate at the hub airport. The ministry asked why this rule was not followed when the passengers arrived in Delhi.

3. Why were they not sent through immigration?

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.

4. Why were Lufthansa boarding passes issued at Amritsar?

The notice questions why Air India issued onward boarding passes for the Lufthansa flight at Amritsar. The ministry said the approved hub-and-spoke procedure does not provide for issuing such an onward boarding pass at the spoke airport.

ALSO READ | Show-cause notice to Air India after Italians skip immigration: ‘Passengers incorrectly handled’

5. What did Air India and SATS staff do?

The ministry has sought details of the role and responsibility of Air India and SATS personnel who handled and escorted the passengers at Amritsar and Delhi.

6. What was the role of Air India’s nodal officer?

Air India is required to have a 24x7 nodal officer and team to ensure that passengers do not board international flights or leave the country without completing immigration. The ministry asked what the nodal officer and supervisory team were doing when the lapse occurred.

7. Why was the passenger reconciliation not done on time?

The ministry asked why the required reconciliation of domestic and international passengers was not carried out in time at Delhi airport.

8. Were passenger records correctly submitted?

The ministry has also asked whether the General Declaration, passenger manifest, API/PNR data and other passenger information sent to immigration authorities were submitted on time and correctly reflected the passengers’ movement.

ALSO READ | Delhi airport denies notice over reports of security lapse involving three Air India passengers to Italy

9. Why did the system fail to catch the lapse?

The ministry wants to know why the deviation was detected only later through manual reconciliation instead of being caught by the prescribed checks before the passengers reached the departure area.

The government has asked Air India to explain why action should not be taken against it for violating the approved hub-and-spoke procedure and failing to maintain adequate checks to prevent the passengers from bypassing immigration.

Air India has seven days from receiving the notice to respond. If it fails to reply, the ministry said it may proceed based on available records and consider administrative or regulatory action.

What happened at Delhi airport?

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.

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.

Under the approved procedure, they should have exited through Gate 39, completed mandatory immigration clearance and then proceeded to the international departure area.