Vistara Passengers From Dubai Dropped At Domestic Terminal In Mumbai

Something went wrong with the communication among Vistara’s ground crew as some of the airline’s passengers arriving from Dubai were taken to the domestic terminal in Mumbai. An investigation has been launched into the incident, and Vistara has said that it will work to tighten its standard operating procedures.

Wrong terminal

In a significant security lapse, over 50 of Vistara’s passengers from Dubai were taken to the Domestic terminal at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on February 4 instead of international arrivals. The Hindu reports that the customers even bypassed customs and immigration before being brought back to the correct terminal.

This has led to an investigation being launched by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BACS). Vistara, too, has admitted to the mistake caused by its employees and released a statement that said,

“Few of our customers, arriving from Dubai to Mumbai on Vistara flight UK 202 on 4 February 2024, were erroneously taken to domestic arrivals instead of international arrivals. Our teams worked alongside security agencies and relevant authorities to ensure that the said customers were taken to the designated area to complete their arrival formalities and conclude their journey.

“We regret the inconvenience caused to the customers, inadvertently. We are revisiting and further tightening our standard operating procedures to avoid any recurrence.”

After the flight landed in Mumbai, four shuttle buses were arranged to ferry them to the terminal. According to reports, one of the buses took over 50 passengers to domestic arrivals, and that’s when the confusion began. Eventually, they were carried back to the international terminal, where they cleared their immigration formalities.

Photo: WeChitra | Shutterstock

Not the first time

If this sounds familiar, it’s because something similar happened at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport not too long ago. In December, some passengers arriving on an Air India flight from – once again – Dubai were dropped at the domestic terminal. When some travelers informed the airport security staff, the Air India ground handling agency, AISATS, was notified about the error.

Photo: Abdul N Quraishi – Abs | Shutterstock

It was also reported that some of those passengers actually exited the terminal without going through immigration or customs clearance. Others had to wait for about an hour before Air India staff finally took them to the correct terminal. Air India took the issue quite seriously and suspended the coach driver involved in the incident.

Related

International Passengers Dropped At Domestic Arrivals: Air India Suspends Coach Driver

The incident involved passengers arriving from Dubai.

Security breach

International airports are some of the most heavily guarded and scrutinized spaces in any country. Airport officials and immigration and customs officers keep a close eye on any suspicious activity and are trained to filter out such passengers from the rest.

Photo: Nieuwland Photography | Shutterstock

As such, passengers arriving from overseas flights being taken to domestic arrivals is a significant breach of protocol. This becomes even more critical when it happens on flights arriving from the Middle East, such as Dubai, as many cases of illegal gold smuggling have been documented to have occurred on such flights.

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