Centre amends rules to differentiate connecting flights from Hub-and-Spoke ones

The central government has stepped in to distinguish procedures for passengers travelling on interline and codeshare flights from those travelling under the recently introduced hub-and-spoke model, following an immigration lapse at Delhi airport in September.

Airlines and airport authorities are coordinating changes to boarding-pass issuance and passenger verification, according to officials aware of the development.

“Under the revised procedure, the second boarding pass for interline and codeshare passengers will be issued at connecting airports after immigration, instead of being issued at the originating airport,” one of the officials aware of the development said.

The baggage of passengers on such journeys, however, will continue to be checked in and tagged at the originating airport for the entire trip, the official said.

For Air India’s hub-and-spoke connections, both boarding passes will continue to be issued at the point of origin, another official said.

“Both the passes will be marked as ‘I’ instead of ‘D’ for domestic flights and ‘I’ for international flights,” the official said.

A third official said that the Delhi airport has provided additional counters to facilitate the revised process, while airlines have deployed additional staff to strengthen checks at boarding points and transfer areas.

“The changes were worked out following consultations involving the government and the airline,” another official said.

The passengers had been issued boarding passes at Amritsar airport for both legs of their journey. However, the two flights did not fall under Air India’s hub-and-spoke model, under which passengers can complete immigration at the originating airport before connecting to an international flight at a hub.

These three passengers had to be issued boarding passes in Delhi, not in Amritsar, the official said.

During the September 4 incident, the passengers were taken to the transfer area after landing in Delhi rather than being directed to the immigration counters. They subsequently boarded the Lufthansa flight without completing the required formalities.

Air India and Lufthansa have an interline partnership, which allows passengers to book connecting flights operated by different airlines under a single itinerary.

The revised procedure seeks to distinguish such connections from those covered by the hub-and-spoke arrangement.

The civil aviation ministry had issued a show-cause notice to the former Air India chief executive, Campbell Wilson, over alleged procedural lapses, and the home ministry had also convened a meeting of stakeholders, chaired by home secretary Govind Mohan, to discuss the incident and steps to strengthen checks.

However, the meeting could not be held.