MHA Calls Urgent Meet After 3 Italians Skip Delhi Immigration, Fly To Munich

The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has called an urgent meeting of senior officials from the home and civil aviation ministries and other stakeholders after three Italian passengers travelled from Amritsar to Delhi and boarded a Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing mandatory immigration formalities, officials aware of the matter said.

The meeting, scheduled for Tuesday evening, will be chaired by Home Secretary Govind Mohan and attended by senior officials from the home and civil aviation ministries, Intelligence Bureau Director, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner, Air India Group head and Delhi airport CEO, according to a notice seen by HT.

The meeting follows a show-cause notice issued by the Union ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) to Air India on September 12 after concerns were raised by the MHA over the airline’s handling of the passengers.

The incident occurred on September 4.

“The home ministry has called for a meeting of the stakeholders at 7pm in Kartavya Bhawan (MHA office) to discuss the incident on Tuesday,” an official said.

Air India did not comment on the matter. The civil aviation ministry also declined to comment.

However, HT learnt that Air India had not responded to the show-cause notice as of Tuesday evening.

What Happened At Delhi Airport?

The three passengers travelled from Amritsar to Delhi before boarding a Lufthansa flight to Munich. They did not complete the required immigration formalities at Delhi airport before taking the international flight, people familiar with the matter said.

The lapse appears to have originated at Amritsar airport, they added.

“They were issued two boarding passes at the Amritsar airport for Delhi as well as for the Munich flight operated by Lufthansa. The passengers were supposed to complete their immigration at the Delhi airport but they were directed to the I-to-I (international-to-international) transfer, due to which they were able to board their international flight without completing the mandatory process,” one person said.

Amritsar is among the airports where the government has introduced a “hub-and-spoke model” for international travel.

Under this arrangement, passengers travelling to international destinations complete immigration formalities at the origin, or “spoke”, airport before transferring to an international flight at a designated “hub”. At the hub, passengers generally need to undergo security checks before boarding their onward international flight.

In this case, however, the passengers travelled from Amritsar, the spoke, to Delhi, the hub, before taking their international flight to Munich.

Since the two flights were not operating under the applicable hub-and-spoke arrangement, the passengers were required to complete immigration formalities in Delhi before boarding the Lufthansa flight, according to people aware of the matter.