MHA calls urgent meeting after 3 Italian passengers skip immigration
What's the story
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has called an urgent meeting on Tuesday evening after three Italian passengers skipped immigration at Delhi airport. The passengers, who had traveled from Amritsar to Delhi, boarded a Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing the mandatory immigration process, HT reported. According to the newspaper, the meeting will be chaired by Home Secretary Govind Mohan and will include senior officials from home and civil aviation ministries, Air India Group head, and Delhi airport CEO.
Airline investigation
Show-cause notice issued to Air India
The passengers had travelled from Amritsar to Delhi on an Air India flight on September 4 before taking the Lufthansa flight to Munich.
However, rather than completing immigration in Delhi before catching the international flight, they were taken to the international transfer area and went to board the Lufthansa flight.
The incident prompted the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to issue a show-cause notice to Air India and also an explanation from CEO Campbell Wilson over these alleged lapses.
Clarification request
MoCA seeks explanation on 9 grounds
India Today reported that the Civil Aviation Ministry has sought a written response from Air India on nine grounds related to the violations.
Among the issues raised are the role and responsibility of Air India and SATS personnel in handling and escorting passengers.
The ministry also questioned why passengers were taken along the international-to-international transfer route instead of exiting through the designated arrival immigration area.
Passengers
They were issued two boarding passes at Amritsar airport
"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," people aware of the matter told HT.
Amritsar is one of the airports where the government has introduced a "hub-and-spoke model."
Policy presentation
Hub-and-Spoke policy violations
Under this policy, passengers traveling to overseas destinations must complete immigration formalities at the origin or "spoke" airport before changing to an international flight at the designated hub.
Passengers at the hub are only required to go through security checks before boarding their overseas flight.
In this case, however, the passengers were traveling from Amritsar, the spoke, to Delhi, the hub, before boarding their international flight to Munich.