Air India has suspended a staff member following a major security breach in which three Italian nationals traveled from Amritsar to Munich without going through required departure immigration clearances.

According to India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, the incident occurred during the early hours of Sept. 4. The passengers—identified as Surjit Singh, Balwinder Kaur, and Gurdev Singh—arrived at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport from Amritsar on Air India Flight.

Instead of exiting to complete mandatory immigration checks in Delhi before their connecting flight, the passengers were improperly escorted directly into the airport's international transfer area. They subsequently boarded Lufthansa Flight to Munich at 1:45 a.m., bypassing immigration controls entirely.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu confirmed Tuesday that an investigation fixed responsibility on an Air India employee assigned to route connecting passengers, leading to the staffer's immediate suspension.

The ministry previously issued a show-cause notice to the airline, citing a serious violation of standard operating procedures for domestic-to-international transfers. Authorities are currently reviewing passenger transfer protocols and airport routing mechanisms to prevent similar security lapses.