Air India Faces Show-Cause Notice Over Immigration Lapse at Delhi Airport

September 15, 2026

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry has issued a show-cause notice to Air India over alleged procedural lapses that allowed three Italian passengers to board a connecting international flight from Delhi without completing the mandatory immigration process.

The incident took place earlier this month after the three passengers travelled from Amritsar to Delhi on September 4 and later boarded a Lufthansa flight bound for Munich. According to sources, the passengers did not undergo immigration at Delhi before taking the international flight.

The development has prompted the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to call a meeting of key stakeholders on Tuesday to examine how the passengers were able to move to the international transfer area without completing the required immigration formalities. Air India has not issued any comment on the matter so far.

Civil Aviation Ministry Seeks Explanation From Air India CEO

The show-cause notice has been issued to Air India CEO Campbell Wilson, seeking an explanation over the alleged procedural lapses.

The matter has also reached the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is set to review the circumstances surrounding the incident. Home Secretary Govind Mohan is expected to chair the meeting on Tuesday.

Senior officials from various agencies and organisations are likely to participate in the meeting. Those expected to attend include the Secretary and Additional Secretary of the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, the Additional Secretary in charge of Union Territories and Foreigners in the Home Ministry, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson and the CEO of Delhi airport.

The meeting is expected to focus on how the passengers were processed at Delhi airport and why the required immigration checks were not completed before they boarded their onward international flight.

What Happened To The Three Italian Passengers?

The three passengers travelled from Amritsar to Delhi on an Air India flight on September 4 and were subsequently scheduled to continue their journey to Munich on a Lufthansa flight.

Under the normal procedure applicable to their journey, the passengers were required to complete immigration formalities at Delhi before proceeding to their international departure.

However, sources said the passengers were instead taken to the international transfer area after arriving in Delhi. As a result, they did not reach the immigration counter and were able to board the Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing the required immigration process.

A key aspect of the incident is that the Amritsar-Delhi and Delhi-Munich flights were not covered under Air India’s “Hub-and-Spoke” model for seamless international connections.

Why The Hub-and-Spoke Model Matters

Air India has introduced a Hub-and-Spoke model at select airports, including Amritsar, to facilitate smoother international connections.

Under this arrangement, passengers travelling from a spoke airport to an international destination through a hub airport can complete their immigration formalities at the origin airport. Once they reach the hub, they generally need to undergo security checks before proceeding to their international flight.

In the case of a passenger travelling from Amritsar to Delhi and then onward to an international destination, Amritsar functions as the spoke while Delhi serves as the hub.

However, the three Italian passengers were not travelling under such an eligible Air India connection. Sources said they had been issued boarding passes at Amritsar for both the Delhi sector and their onward Lufthansa flight to Munich.

Since the two flights were outside the scope of the Hub-and-Spoke arrangement, the passengers were required to exit through the arrival area at Delhi and complete immigration before proceeding for their international departure.

How Did The Passengers Reach The International Transfer Area?

According to sources, the passengers were taken to the international transfer area after landing in Delhi instead of being routed through the regular arrival process, where they would have encountered immigration.

This meant they did not reach the immigration counters and subsequently boarded the Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing the mandatory immigration procedure.

The incident has raised questions over the procedures followed while handling passengers travelling on connecting flights involving different airlines, particularly when such passengers are not covered by a designated seamless-transfer arrangement.

Air India and Lufthansa have an interline partnership, under which connecting journeys involving different airlines can be booked under a single itinerary, with the airlines coordinating certain aspects of the transfer process.