A security breach was reported at Mumbai International Airport after passengers arriving from Dubai were ferried to the domestic terminal instead of the international terminal on Monday, February 5. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) initiated an inquiry against the airline as domestic terminals lack immigration counters and do not fall under the purview of customs.
The incident occurred after Vistara flight UK-202 landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 12:24 am. However, international passengers arriving at Indian airports are required to undergo immigration processes, making this incident an apparent security violation.
A Vistara spokesperson stated that a few passengers were "erroneously" taken to domestic arrivals instead of international arrivals and were later escorted to the designated terminal to complete the international arrival formalities. "Few of our customers, arriving from Dubai to Mumbai on Vistara flight UK 202 on February 4, were erroneously taken to domestic arrivals instead of international arrivals," the spokesperson said, as reported by news agency PTI.
"We are revisiting and further tightening our standard operating procedures to avoid any recurrence," Vistara added. Earlier, a post on the social media platform X stated, "Vistara Airlines major goof up/security breach." "All passengers arrived right now from Dubai UK202 have been dropped off by bus to the domestic terminal gate bypassing all immigration/customs & directly at the luggage belt," the post on X stated.