Passengers from Dubai taken to Mumbai airport domestic terminal; probe launched

Vistara said the airline’s teams worked with security agencies and the relevant authorities to ensure that the customers were taken to the designated area

Passengers of a Dubai-Mumbai Vistara flight were taken to the domestic instead of international arrivals terminal bypassing customs and immigration clearance on Monday morning, prompting the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security to launch a probe over the breach, people aware of the matter said.

Vistara said the airline was revisiting and tightening standard operating procedures to avoid any recurrence. (REUTERS/Representative)

Immigration officials said that all the passengers were called back from the baggage claim area to complete the formalities.

In a statement, Vistara said the airline’s teams worked with security agencies and the relevant authorities to ensure that the customers were taken to the designated area to complete their arrival formalities. “We regret the inconvenience caused to the customers, inadvertently. We are revisiting and further tightening our standard operating procedures to avoid any recurrence,” the statement said.

A person aware of the matter said that the driver of a bus that carried the passengers from the tarmac inadvertently brought them to the domestic terminal. “When the ground staff realised this, all the passengers were called back. There was no security breach as such but the incident was avoidable.”