Full Breakdown
Three Italian Passengers Bypass Immigration at Delhi Airport: Air India Faces Show-Cause Notice
By Drooid · · How we work
Incident Overview
On the night of September 3 2026, three Italian nationals travelled on Air India flight AI-1115 from Amritsar to Delhi. They arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 12:50 a.m. on September 4 and, without completing departure immigration, were escorted to the international-to-international (I-to-I) transfer area. They boarded Lufthansa flight LH-763 to Munich at 1:45 a.m. and left India. The civil aviation ministry later issued a show-cause notice to Air India for breaching the hub-and-spoke SOP.
Background: Hub-and-Spoke Procedure
Air India’s “hub-and-spoke” (or “Easy Connect”) model lets passengers on selected domestic routes clear immigration at the origin airport and receive an “I” designator boarding pass for direct transfer at Delhi. Passengers with a “D” (domestic) designator must clear immigration in Delhi before an onward international flight. The three Italians had “D” passes for the Amritsar-Delhi leg, so they should have been routed to the arrivals area.
Timeline of Events
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| September 3 2026 | AI-1115 departs Amritsar for Delhi (night). |
| September 4 2026 | Passengers arrive 12:50 a.m.; routed to I-to-I area and board LH-763 at 1:45 a.m. without immigration clearance. |
| September 12 2026 | Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) issues a show-cause notice to Air India. |
| September 15 2026 | Home Secretary Govind Mohan chairs an urgent inter-ministerial meeting (scheduled). |
Data & Statistics
- Passengers involved: three (identified in some reports as Surjit Singh, Balwinder Kaur and Gurdev Singh).
- Flights: AI-1115 (Amritsar -> Delhi) and LH-763 (Delhi -> Munich).
- Arrival time: 12:50 a.m.; onward departure: 1:45 a.m. – a gap of less than one hour.
- Show-cause notice gave Air India seven days to respond.
Official Statements & Responses
- Civil Aviation Ministry – Sent the notice to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson, requesting an explanation of the boarding-pass type, the role of ground-handling agency AISATS, and passenger-data reconciliation.
- Home Ministry – Home Secretary Govind Mohan will chair the September 15 meeting with senior officials from both ministries, the Bureau of Immigration and Delhi airport.
- Air India – No comment provided.
- Lufthansa – No comment recorded.
- Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) – Says it has not received a notice and urges the public not to circulate unverified information.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Passenger identities – Some outlets name the three individuals; others refer only to “three Italian nationals.”
- Boarding-pass classification – The notice alleges a “third category” of boarding pass was issued, but details are absent.
What’s Next
- The inter-ministerial meeting on September 15 2026 will review the incident and present findings.
- Air India must submit a written explanation within seven days of the September 12 notice, or face administrative action.
The breach underscores a lapse in passenger segregation at Delhi’s hub airport and has triggered closer scrutiny of Air India’s hub-and-spoke implementation.