Centre summons Air India CEO after three Italians fly out of Delhi without immigration clearance

The Centre has summoned Air India CEO Campbell Wilson for an urgent meeting after three Italian nationals allegedly flew out of Delhi without completing mandatory departure immigration formalities, exposing a serious security and procedural lapse at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

The three passengers arrived in Delhi from Amritsar on Air India flight AI1115 at around 12.50 am on September 4. They subsequently boarded Lufthansa flight LH763 to Munich at around 1.45 am, without undergoing the required immigration clearance, according to sources.

The incident has prompted the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to issue a show-cause notice to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson. The notice describes the incident as a “serious security and immigration-related lapse” and seeks an explanation for the alleged violation of standard operating procedures governing hub-and-spoke operations. Air India has been given seven days to respond.

According to officials and sources familiar with the matter, the passengers had been issued boarding passes at Amritsar for both their domestic flight to Delhi and their onward Lufthansa flight to Munich.

However, the two flights were not covered by the specific Air India hub-and-spoke arrangement under which passengers travelling from designated domestic airports can complete immigration at the originating airport before connecting to an international flight through a designated hub.

In this case, the passengers were required to exit through the arrival area at Delhi and complete immigration before proceeding to their international flight. Instead, they were allegedly routed to the international transfer area, allowing them to reach the departure area without passing through immigration.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has raised several questions over the handling of the passengers, including why they were issued both boarding passes at Amritsar, how they were allowed into the international transfer area at Delhi and whether the required checks were carried out by Air India personnel and other agencies involved in passenger handling.

The incident has also prompted the Ministry of Home Affairs to convene a meeting of senior officials on Tuesday. Home Secretary Govind Mohan is expected to chair the meeting, which will include officials from the Home Ministry, Civil Aviation Ministry, Intelligence Bureau, Bureau of Immigration, Air India and Delhi airport.

The meeting is expected to examine the gaps in the newly introduced hub-and-spoke system and measures needed to prevent passengers from bypassing immigration during domestic-to-international transfers.

Sources said possible measures under consideration include separate routing for domestic and international connecting passengers, colour-coded tags and stronger checks at the transit airport.

Delhi International Airport Ltd, which operates the airport, has said it has not received a show-cause notice in the matter and remains committed to complying with security and government protocols.