Less than three weeks after three Italian passengers transited Delhi without completing departure immigration, India’s Civil Aviation Ministry has overhauled security protocols for its fledgling hub-and-spoke model. Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu told reporters that check-in, immigration and customs formalities completed at spoke airports will now be subject to real-time data reconciliation with the hub, passenger-manifest audits and random secondary checks at transfer points. The hub-and-spoke scheme—operational in Ahmedabad, Varanasi and Amritsar—allows travellers to clear formalities at the origin airport and board an international connection in Delhi without repeating the process. While the model promises seamless travel from Tier-II and Tier-III cities, the 4 September breach exposed gaps in inter-agency coordination. Air India has received a show-cause notice and suspended staff involved in the incident. Under the revised Standard Operating Procedures, airline Departure Control Systems must now embed an “immigration clearance” flag before a boarding pass can be issued for the onward leg. Airport operators have been instructed to install CCTV-monitored sterile corridors between domestic arrival gates and international departure lounges. A joint task force comprising officials from the Bureau of Immigration (BoI), CISF and DGCA will conduct monthly audits for the next six months. For business travellers the changes mean longer minimum connection times—raised from 60 to 90 minutes—to accommodate dual screening. Travel managers should update corporate booking tools to reflect the new buffer or risk mis-connected flights. On the upside, the ministry plans to roll the model out to ten additional cities once the tightened regime proves effective, a move that could eventually save regional executives a detour through Mumbai or Bengaluru. Industry observers say India’s quick response will reassure foreign carriers assessing code-share opportunities on domestic feeders. “If the data link between FRRO, BoI and airlines works as advertised, it could become a blueprint for other large countries trying to decentralise immigration,” noted aviation consultant Nisha Singh.
Source: ET Infra
