3 foreigners bypass immigration, fly out of Delhi; Air India gets notice

Three Italian passengers flew out of Delhi without proper immigration clearance, prompting a show-cause notice from the civil aviation ministry to Air India. The incident occurred on September 4, when the passengers, who had arrived in Delhi from Amritsar, boarded a Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing immigration formalities at the airport.

The passengers were issued boarding passes at Amritsar for both their flight to Delhi and the international flight, but as their flights were not part of Air India's 'Hub-and-Spoke' model, they were required to clear immigration upon arrival in Delhi. Instead of going through immigration, they were taken to an international transfer area and boarded the Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing the required process.

The incident has raised concerns about procedural lapses in the aviation sector, prompting a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the matter.