Over 200 SpiceJet passengers protest at Delhi airport over repeated flight delays

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will convene an emergency meeting with senior officials on Tuesday following allegations that three Italian passengers bypassed mandatory immigration procedures at Delhi airport. The incident allegedly occurred on September 4 when the passengers, who had traveled from Amritsar to Delhi, boarded a Lufthansa flight to Munich without completing their immigration process at Delhi airport.

The meeting, chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, will be attended by key officials from the civil aviation ministry, Intelligence Bureau, Home Ministry, Bureau of Immigration, Air India Group head, and the Delhi airport CEO. Earlier, the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation had issued a show-cause notice to Air India on September 12 over the handling of the passengers' case.

The passengers are believed to have skipped immigration formalities at Amritsar airport, which is one of the airports where the government has implemented a hub-and-spoke model for international flights. This model requires passengers to undergo immigration at the origin airport before transferring to an international flight, but in this case, the passengers were directed to an international-to-international transfer, allowing them to board the flight without completing the mandatory process.