Amritsar airport launches hub-and-spoke model for international transit via Delhi

The Centre on Tuesday launched its hub-and-spoke aviation model at Amritsar airport, enabling international passengers to complete check-in, immigration, customs and baggage formalities at the origin airport before transiting through Delhi for their overseas flights, a move aimed at reducing transit hassles and strengthening global connectivity from northern India.

The initiative was inaugurated in the presence of Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha and Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman Vipin Kumar, while Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu addressed the event virtually.

Under the new system, passengers flying from Amritsar to international destinations via Delhi will be able to check in their baggage, complete immigration and customs formalities, and undergo security procedures at Amritsar itself. On reaching Delhi, they will proceed directly to the security hold area before boarding their onward international flight, eliminating the need to collect baggage, change terminals or repeat immigration procedures.


"Today, if a passenger wants to travel abroad via Delhi, they first arrive as a domestic passenger and then have to change terminals, recheck baggage and complete immigration, customs and security checks. If their international flight is scheduled several hours later, they have to spend the day waiting in Delhi. This is particularly difficult for elderly passengers," Sinha said.

He said the government has identified major international airports as hubs while developing smaller international airports as spokes to provide seamless onward connectivity. Amritsar becomes the second airport to adopt the model after Varanasi, where it was launched on June 25.

Naidu said the initiative would significantly improve the travel experience for passengers from Punjab and neighbouring states.

"If anyone from Punjab wanted to travel to London, Toronto or Dubai, they had to reach Delhi, handle their luggage again, stand in long queues and go through immigration. But now, you will complete immigration and check-in right at the Amritsar airport. Your baggage will go straight to your international destination, and in Delhi you will simply catch your connecting flight," he said.

The minister said around 150,000 passengers travel annually from Amritsar to Delhi to board international flights, while a similar number arrive in Delhi from overseas before travelling onward to Amritsar. With the new model, he said, passengers will be able to board their international connection in Delhi within about four hours.

Calling Amritsar the "international gateway for North India", Naidu said the airport would serve travellers from Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh. He noted that nearly 10 million of the estimated 30 million Indians living overseas are Punjabis, adding that improved connectivity would boost tourism, hospitality, handicrafts, textiles, cargo and logistics while improving airlines' economics on long-haul international routes.

Sinha said the government plans to gradually establish four aviation hubs and around 40 spokes across the country, with international airports serving as spokes to create a nationwide network offering seamless global connectivity.

The hub-and-spoke model is part of the government's broader strategy to improve airport efficiency, reduce transit time and strengthen connectivity between regional centres and international destinations through major aviation hubs.