Reiterating India’s goal to become a global aviation hub

NEW DELHI: Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Tuesday said authorities have learnt from the recent immigration lapse at Delhi Airport where three hub and spoke passengers of Air India flew from Amritsar to Germany via Delhi without clearing immigration and taking corrective steps to ensure such an incident never recurs. Reiterating India’s goal to become a global aviation hub, the minister said hub and spoke will be expanded to more airports while plugging all gaps to create a foolproof seamless system.“There should be no compromise with security detail in our airport operations. We want convenient and seamless international transfers. That is where hub and spoke comes in. India truly believes in becoming a global hub. So far three airports have hub and spoke and we will expand this list. There was a lapse. The aviation ministry responded and issued a show cause to AI so that any security related issue should be addressed,” Naidu said.Authorities met AI officials and “understood the checks and balances that have been put in place. Now there are multiple parameters in place to ensure this does not recut. Things have settled down. We have created a robust ecosystem. This lapse has been an understanding for us,” he added.

The feedback to the hub and spoke with passengers clearing customs and immigration at the local spoke airport has been “great”. “This has led to convenience to passengers, especially for women traveling with children and connecting domestic to international at Delhi late at night,” the minister said.The Union aviation ministry had issued a show cause notice to Air India for lapses that saw three foreigners fly into Delhi from Amritsar on Sept 4 and then within an hour depart for Munich on a codeshare Lufthansa flight without the mandatory immigration check. “Air India personnel who were to escort passengers through respective pathways were found to be at fault and they were immediately suspended. Have created multiple systems now; the role digi yatra role plays; how passengers move at connecting airports. The ecosystem has been strengthened,” Naidu said.