India, April 30 -- India's civil aviation ministry has issued a standard operating procedure for the country's first hub-and-spoke flight operations, laying down protocols for immigration, customs, baggage transfers and passenger segregation between domestic and international legs.

In practice, the model will allow passengers from smaller cities to book a single ticket to an international destination, fly to a major airport like Delhi, and connect to their onward flight by clearing immigration and dropping baggage only at their initial departure. The process, routine at airports like Dubai, Singapore and London Heathrow, has not been available in India until now.

Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu reviewed Delhi airport's readiness...