Delhi airport denies show-cause notice over 3 passengers who allegedly bypassed immigration

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which operates Indira Gandhi International Airport, on Monday said it had not received any show-cause notice over an alleged security lapse involving three foreign passengers who reportedly flew from Delhi to Munich without undergoing immigration clearance.

The clarification came as the incident drew the attention of the Union home ministry, which has scheduled a meeting on the matter. Sources said the meeting will be held at Kartavya Bhawan at 7 pm on Tuesday, with senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Air India expected to attend.

The incident reportedly took place on September 4, when the three passengers, allegedly Italian nationals, travelled from Amritsar to Delhi and later boarded a Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing the immigration process.

DIAL says airport security is handled by multiple agencies

Responding to reports that the airport operator had been served a notice, DIAL said in a post on X that it had "not been served any Show Cause Notice in this matter".

The airport operator said security at IGI Airport is managed through a "multi-agency framework" and stressed that it remains committed to supporting all security and government agencies and following the prescribed protocols.

DIAL also urged people not to circulate or share information that has not been verified.

The clarification is significant because the reported lapse concerns the movement of passengers through different airport processes, involving the airline and several agencies responsible for security, immigration and passenger handling.

What happened to the three passengers?

The alleged lapse occurred in the early hours of September 4.

The three passengers had travelled from Amritsar to Delhi on an Air India flight under the airline's hub-and-spoke arrangement. At Amritsar, they were issued "D" boarding passes for the domestic sector to Delhi. They also received boarding passes for their onward Lufthansa flight from Delhi to Munich.

According to ministry sources cited in media reports, passengers holding "D" boarding passes were required to undergo immigration at Delhi before boarding an international flight.

However, the three passengers allegedly did not enter the immigration process. Instead, after arriving in Delhi, they reached the international departure area through the International-to-International, or I-to-I, transfer route.

They subsequently boarded the Lufthansa flight bound for Munich without completing immigration formalities.

The incident has raised questions over how passengers identified as domestic travellers were able to access the international transfer area and reach the boarding gate without the required checks.

Air India's hub-and-spoke system under scrutiny

The case has also brought attention to the way Air India's hub-and-spoke system operates.

Under the airline's Easy Connect hub-and-spoke programme, eligible passengers travelling from certain domestic airports to international destinations can complete check-in and immigration formalities at their origin airport before connecting through Delhi. Air India says passengers using the system can then proceed through the international transfer area at the hub without repeating immigration.

However, the programme does not apply to every domestic-to-international connection. Air India's published guidelines state that when the programme does not apply, immigration and other required formalities are completed at Delhi.

The distinction between passengers who have already completed immigration at their origin airport and those who must undergo it at the hub is therefore central to the investigation.

In the case involving the three foreign passengers, questions have been raised over why passengers carrying "D" boarding passes were allowed to follow the international transfer route.

Ministry had already sought an explanation from Air India

The incident has prompted action from the civil aviation authorities. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued a show-cause notice to Air India, asking the airline to explain how the three passengers were able to board an international flight without completing immigration clearance. The airline has been given seven days to respond.

The ministry is examining whether prescribed passenger-handling procedures were followed and how the passengers moved from the domestic arrival stream to the international departure area.

The inquiry is also expected to examine the role of airline and ground-handling personnel and the safeguards designed to prevent such a movement without immigration clearance.

MHA calls meeting over alleged security lapse

Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Home Affairs has called a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the incident, according to sources.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 pm at Kartavya Bhawan. Secretaries and additional secretaries from both the MHA and MoCA, along with the Air India group head, are expected to attend.

The MHA has asked the civil aviation ministry to make a presentation on the incident.

The meeting is expected to examine how the three passengers were able to pass through the airport's international transfer system despite reportedly being identified as domestic passengers and without completing immigration formalities.

No immediate response from Air India or civil aviation ministry

There was no immediate public reaction from Air India or the Ministry of Civil Aviation to DIAL's clarification on Monday.

The incident has nevertheless raised questions over the coordination between airlines, airport operators, immigration authorities, security agencies and ground-handling teams.

India's Advance Passenger Information System also requires airlines to provide passenger information to immigration authorities, under a framework administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The latest developments have therefore shifted the focus towards determining where the passenger-handling process failed and whether existing safeguards were sufficient to prevent the three passengers from boarding their Munich-bound flight without the mandatory immigration clearance.