Pioneer In Short
Immigration lapse puts AI under lens
The Civil Aviation Ministry has issued a show-cause notice to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson over alleged procedural lapses that allowed three Italian passengers to board a Delhi-Munich flight without completing immigration, sources said. The passengers flew from Amritsar to Delhi on September 4 and then boarded a Lufthansa flight to Munich. Although they were issued boarding passes for both flights at Amritsar, the journey was not covered under Air India’s “Hub-and-Spoke” model, under which immigration can be completed at the originating airport. The passengers were instead required to exit through the arrival area at Delhi and complete immigration before boarding their international flight.
However, they were directed to the international transfer area, bypassing immigration, the sources said. Air India and Lufthansa have an interline partnership, allowing passengers to book connecting flights operated by both airlines under a single itinerary. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Govind Mohan will chair a meeting Tuesday to examine the incident. Officials from the Home and Civil Aviation ministries, Intelligence Bureau, Bureau of Immigration, Air India and Delhi Airport are expected to attend. Air India has not commented on the incident.
Oil prices rise after Saudi pipeline hit
A key Saudi oil pipeline is expected to remain largely out of service for three to five weeks after an attack, threatening to disrupt crude exports and further tighten global petroleum supplies, two regional officials briefed on the repairs said. The East-West Pipeline, which can carry up to 7 million barrels of crude a day from the Persian Gulf to Red Sea ports, was shut after Thursday’s attack. It appeared to be carrying about 4 million barrels a day, roughly 4% of global oil supplies, based on exports through Yanbu, according to an Atlantic Council analysis. Oil prices rose more than 2% Monday as the disruption compounded shipping problems caused by attacks on vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands in the Red Sea, expanding their reach near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The rebels also recently captured Mokha and Mayun. The renewed fighting has displaced more than 80,000 people in two week.
