Air India Gets Show-Cause Notice After 3 Italian Passengers Fly to Munich Without Immigration

New Delhi: India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has issued a show-cause notice to Air India following a major procedural breakdown that allowed three Italian nationals to leave the country from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport without undergoing mandatory immigration checks.

The security breach took place in the early hours of September 4, 2026, after the passengers landed in Delhi from Amritsar on Air India flight AI 1115 at approximately 12:50 AM.

Less than an hour later, at 1:45 AM, the trio boarded Lufthansa flight LH 763 bound for Munich and entered Indian airspace without encountering immigration control.

According to sources, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has sought an explanation from the airline after the incident, terming it a “serious security and immigration-related lapse”.

The ministry has issued a show-cause notice to Air India seeking details regarding the circumstances that led to the alleged violation of mandatory immigration procedures.

Earlier on September 7, Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran reaffirmed the airline’s focus on safety, customer trust, operational excellence and financial sustainability as it enters its next phase of transformation.

According to sources, speaking at an internal meeting, Chandrasekaran stressed that restoring trust in Air India must remain the airline’s foremost priority, and said this would require world-class processes, rigorous compliance and personal accountability across the organisation.

“The most important thing Air India should aspire to have is trust in the minds of people. Air India must be known for caring about safety above everything else. Our safety record should not just match the best airlines in the world; it should be better than the best," sources quoted him as saying.

Chandrasekaran, along with outgoing CEO and MD Campbell Wilson and incoming CEO and MD Tewolde Gebremariam, addressed employees at a town hall on Monday.

Thanking employees for their contribution over the past four years, Chandrasekaran said Air India holds a unique position in the country and has a special place in the hearts of Indians worldwide.

“For me, bringing Air India back to the Tata Group is one of the most important milestones of my career, a very, very significant event. Air India belongs to a billion people. It is not just another business,” he said, adding, “It is probably the only business that a billion people talk about, have views on, criticise fiercely and appreciate at times. But one thing we should always remember is that all these one billion people are rooting for Air India. That is our biggest strength," he said.