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Customer Rating = from 1.0 (very poor) to 5.0 (excellent)



Delhi Airport by Rishi Khandelwal

21 August 2007   Customer Rating : 2 Star Rating

People who are used to deal with Indian goveenment organisations, are not surprised when things do not work. Rather we are surprised at what actually work. Hence the Subway snackbar can be an pleasant surprise. The immigration upon arrival is usually a bit slow, but the baggage comes fairly on time. Then it is just to proeed out of the customs. Make sure you book the Taxi at the counter only. Also check the prices at various currency exchange (State Bank of India usually give the best rate). Count your money and keep the slip (you need the slip, when you want to leave India and change the Rupees into any other currency). Departures - things fairly efficient, but again the shopping and eating alternatives are very limited. On the positive side, the airport is very logical and easy to find the way around.

Delhi Airport by Kurt Müller

10 August 2007   Customer Rating : 2 Star Rating

With regard to the comment by Tapani Utunen about transit procedures at Delhi airport, it is important to note that Indian airports are - without exception - built to handle only departing and arriving passengers. There is no provision for transit pax. In fact, no airport in India has an "air side", where both arriving and departing passengers mix and where one would normally expect transit desks, restaurants, shops, bars, etc. Instead, departing and arriving passengers are completely separated expect on the air bridge (if available). This also explains why Air India has not been able to gain any significant share in the Europe-Far East market.

Delhi Airport by Tapani Utunen

9 August 2007   Customer Rating : 1 Star Rating

For arriving passengers DEL seems only somewhat confusing because of renovations going on, but for transit passengers needing to pick-up their luggage between international flights DEL is an absolute nightmare. Had almost 4 hrs between flights KUL-DEL-HEL and despite the fact that immigration and luggage delivery took less than expected, getting back upstairs was very confusing: no transit signs or whatever information on how to get to the departure hall, doors & the only lift blocked by people who were not actually travelling anywhere, building-site look & feel which made moving your luggage difficult, strange guys loitering outside the departure hall giving wrong info to passengers (they are not airport staff!), endless queuing etc. Had all this before even reaching the departure hall - you have to be very adamant at this airport!

Delhi Airport by Mark Bickerton

23 July 2007   Customer Rating : 2 Star Rating

Back at DElhi domestic terminal the other day. Flight was cancelled so ended up spending 7 hours there. It really is very noisy. There are constant very loud boarding and other announcements, the TVs are all on, and the marble/stone means that all sound reverberates. There is no place you can just sit and relax at this airport, unless you have earplugs.

Delhi Airport by Mark Bickerton

15 July 2007   Customer Rating : 2 Star Rating

International departure lounge is spartan and a contains a museum of 1970's plastic and metal chair designs. There is one cafe downstairs, one guy selling coffee and one guy selling tea. That's it. For entertainment, they play regular inaudible announcements that make you worry that you are about to miss your flight. Once through final security, the seating is a bit better. Arrivals are generally OK internationally but baggage is always slow. Domstic departures are awful. 600 people in a cramped shed, with constant loud announcements on top of noisy AC, and the only cafes sell tea, coffee, sandwiches and samosas.

Delhi Airport by Michael Scott

6 June 2007   Customer Rating : 2 Star Rating

Another miserable experience at DEL. There is nothing in the departure lounge except for a grubby restaurant, grim and overpriced Subway sandwich counter and a vastly overpriced duty-free shop (roughly twice the price that you'd pay in a supermarket in the UK). I don't understand why there isn't even a newsstand at this airport. In both the departure lounge and at the gate passengers had pushed seating together to make beds, resulting in insufficient seating. The screens continued to show my flight as "on time" even after the scheduled departure time and even though the incoming flight hadn't even arrived yet. Rude and inefficient staff. Dreadful.

Delhi Airport by Ron Kuhlmann

28 May 2007   Customer Rating : 3 Star Rating

Chaotic and wild at the beginning but once past the bag x-ray, it becomes a bit more organized. Given the general state of the infrastructure in India, it was ok. The arrival are is a bit bleak and there is virtually no information available except that offered by the endless touts that are omnipresent. In general, departure is better than arrival in terms of overall experience. Far from the worst I have encountered, however.

Delhi Airport by S Srinivasan

28 April 2007   Customer Rating : 2 Star Rating

Just had my most recent experience with the IGI airport. Be prepared for something approaching a cattle stampede just to get through the front doors. Queue jumping is problematic, so my advice is just to go with the flow and push your way through the line. The initial X-ray screening was quick and painless. Not so immigration - the queue was AWFUL, with an almost 50 minute wait to get through. Security actually didn't take very long, maybe 5 minutes. It's either going to take you an hour to get through immigration or an hour to get through security, unless you happen to fly at an odd time (as has been discussed previously, most flights leave in the middle of the night). If you're flying business class, you can get access to one of the lounges which are decent. Otherwise, you get to sit in a rather drab and depressing sitting area. If you need to connect form the international to domestic terminal or vice versa, either avail yourself of the free shuttle service, or get a cab at the prepaid taxi counter. Unless you speak fluent Hindi, do not try to get a cab from outside, or prepare to pay at least 10 times more than you should.


Delhi Airport by Tom Snook

1 February 2007   Customer Rating : n/a

India has significant problems with its infrastructure and the two Delhi airports (Int'l and Domestic) are prime examples. the good news is India is planning on building a new international terminal. That doesn't help us travelers today though. I agree with all the comments about shabbiness etc. I will offer the following tips. On arrival, like any other airport, you have to queue for immigration and then baggage. The queues can be long depending on what time you arrive. Most international flights arrive/depart IGI in the middle of the night. This is when the airport is at its most crowded. If you can book a daytime or early evening (before 11 pm, say) departure you will find the airport less crowded and hence more pleasant and less confusing. Have your transportation from the airport pre-arranged (by your hotel, business, etc) before you land. Don't mess with the cabs unless you are an experienced traveler in India, or are actively seeking an adventure. For departures, when you get to the airport you will need to show your ticket (or eTicket receipt printout) and passport before they will even let you in the building. Then, you have to run any baggage you plan on checking through a screening machine. They will Xray it and then tag it and seal it. Only then do you proceed to the counter for check in. Note: do NOT put anything you intend to carry on the plane in this screening. that comes later. At checkin when you get your boarding passes be sure to get tags for your carryon bags. Security will later stamp these and you will have to show the stamped tags before you can board the flight. For departures, before you go through immigration, get your money changed and buy anything you intend to buy. those facilities don't exist airside. (I made this mistake once and had to get special permission from the immigration folks to go back to the moneychangers). One final note if you are connecting between an international and domestic flight: give yourself plenty of time. The international and domestic terminals are really like separate airports; they are on opposite sides of the runway. It is about a 6 km ride from one to the other. That may not sound like much but at certain times of night the traffic is impenetrable. One time it took me 40 minutes just to physically get from the domestic to the international buildings.

Delhi Airport by Michael Scott
19 January 2007

A miserable airport. Some words of advice to first-time travellers: All bags to be placed in the hold must be x-rayed and tagged as soon as you enter the airport - if you attempt to check in and you have not had your bag x-rayed you'll be sent back. British Airways has its own x-ray machine and requires you to use it, so if you're flying with them don't waste time queuing at one of the other machines. Make sure that your airline attaches a "cabin baggage" tag to your hand luggage, or it will be taken off you at the gate. Ignore the constant announcements urging you to go immediately through security to the departure lounge, as there is almost nothing airside - an unpleasant little snack bar, a grim, smoky restaurant/bar and a poorly-stocked duty-free shop that accepts only foreign currency. No newsstand, no currency exchange, nowhere pleasant to sit and have a coffee. Stock up on newspapers, books and snacks before heading to the airport! On a positive note, the airport is generally clean and peaceful.

Delhi Airport by Prashant Vaid
10 December 2006

I travel to and from Delhi airport almost twice a year from last 5 years. Every trip there has shown significant improvements. I remember the time when check in was a horrific experience and arrival was worse. The staff are ready to help and there seems to be an army of them. Hotel lounges are a bit expensive. Duty free is small and crowded but you find what you need. Arrival and baggage claim quick. Prepaid taxis and coach tickets are available.

Delhi Airport by Rohan Kapoor
17 November 2006

Recently flew there on Lufthansa. While baggage arrival may take a long time, I waited over 2 hours, the airport has made significant improvements. The bathrooms and clean and hygienic now, there are many more restaurants and check-in is faster than every before. While IGI is not a world class airport it isn't as bad as the reviews.

Delhi Airport by Roger Stone
15 November 2006

Flew in and out of New Delhi recently and have to generally agree with the comments on this site. Final arrival at the airline check-in desks after passing through many other check -through baggage systems represents some sort of relief as one finally arrives at the check-in queue! (I have to say the Cathay Pacific staff at New Delhi were extremely efficient, courteous, and helpful in an otherwise fairly sombre place). Also, a very tricky issue for any travellers looking for an airline business lounge is that, unlike most world airports, the business lounges are in between passport control and final security. If, like me, you are somewhat bewildered at 4am at an airport, then it is too easy to make a mistake and go right through final security to find oneself marooned in a fairly soulless set of waiting lounges unable to return back through security to the business lounge. One final point is that I found luggage retrieval on arrival in New Delhi was extremely efficient with priority baggage almost embarassingly quick in arrival. Mind you, this was at 0245am in the morning but the taxi touts are still waiting for you just outside!

Delhi Airport by J Iwan
15 November 2006

Delhi airport is a quite bad airport considering that one would expect from a capital airport some kind of representation of a country. But do not expect any kind of service or "nice" ambience. You cannot enter the terminal building when you arrive earlier than 3 hours before the flight, instead you have to wait in what they called "waiting lounge", a poor and dirty hall with some rows of seats. Check in, customs, and boarding is an endless chain of check points and security checks to kepp their extremely high amount of uniformed staff working. I couldn't count the amount of stamps which you get on your ticket. Also take care that your hand luggage is labelled (so that they can stamp them) otherwise the security staff is will send you back to the transit counter. Business class lounge is quite o.k. but too small for the amount of passengers departing at night.


Delhi Airport by Paul Harvey
7 November 2006

Delhi airport gets a poor set of reviews in the forum and whilst I did not find is awful, it is certainly presents an image less than that you would expect of a capital city. Most of the greeting crowds are now kept outside of the buildings any only passengers allowed in. On arrival, processing passengers with visas was very efficient and fast even though a number of large planes arrived at the same early time. Baggage collection took ages, money change was easy and advisable since the changers in the City are often on strike at the moment. On departure, documents were inspected with no grace and plenty of rudeness. Check-in was easy and help was available with the forms required when you leave the country. Airside before the final security check, there were duty free shops and some cafes. The final security X rays etc took ages because they were more than thorough. Once through the final security check, the only facility available is the reasonably clean toilet. Summary - a tired airport that does not present a good image. It does a basic job but nothing more than that.

Delhi Airport by Nagendra Bhargava
2 November 2006

Delhi Air port is totally chaotic. I am originally from south of India Bangalore. I laded a year ago with my girl friend (she is swiss) and we were greeted by the too many official looking unofficial people. They were rushing and asking both of us to get into their taxi. My girl friend was totally horrified even though i prepared her with some prior information. Then we managed to take a taxi to domestic airport and the security person wont allow us at least before 3 hours of departure to another city Hyderabad. I must say this is totally slap on India's face. Although many people (indians) like me living abroad appreciate the efforts made by indian people to well represent their country. I completely blame the government of india for such an ill response. God knows, they also have to fly from there. Mumbai airport is much better and well organized in comparision to Delhi. Also Hyderabad airport is not too bad. It is small but if you fly from Frankfurt, you can get out of immigration and get out with luggage in less than 20 minutes. There are two airports which are under construction. One is in Hyderabad and the other one is in Bangalore. They are scheduled to be fully functioning in 3-5 years from now. Hopefully this will solve some of the problems.

Delhi Airport by Catherine Martell
27 October 2006

Frankly, as the premier international airport of India, I think IGI is a disgrace. Arrival has always taken me at least an hour, owing to the incredibly slow queues at immigration, and often longer. The signposting and information in the terminal is inadequate and deeply confusing for tired and bewildered foreigners. When you come out through customs, you'll be faced with a barrage of official-looking but unofficial people in booths, shouting at you for taxis and tours. Lots of people get suckered at this point because the airport has no compunction about renting these booths - designed to look as official as possible - to total rip-off merchants. You're better off going to the taxi booth outside, and for pity's sake don't fall for the various bag and hotel scams that will be pulled on you. Arrival is frightening, but departure is worse - it's boring. The shops and restaurants are pretty pathetic, and non existent once you're through customs - which they herd you through far in advance of when you really need to be in the departure lounge. You'll be in for hours of sitting about: bring a book, and ideally some snacks and water. In conclusion, this is a very, very basic airport, badly run. Oh, and the domestic terminal is even worse.

Delhi Airport by Ryan Chao
18 July 2006

Arrived mid-week evening around 830PM. By the time I arrived to immigration area it was already crowded. The line ended at the end of escalator which caused chaos as the stream of pax coming down from escalator had no room to go once they reach to ground. Luckily the foreigner line was not so bad compared to the line for the Indian nationals. I found one ATM which was not working. Overall the state of the airport is very rundown. Most wall and floor were tiled with low quality, dull, chipped-edged marble slabs. They don't look attractive. Toilet was stinky, unhygienic, equipped with malfunctioned flush. Return flight was on mid-week evening which was not so crowded. The reception person from Indian Airlines lounge offered the facility with Rs500 cover charge for free drink and snacks. Selection of the snacks was like kindergarten food and I am not a drinker so I declined to use the facility. Overall state of the airport facility was depressing.

Delhi Airport by Mike Bressington
25 May 2006

I visited the airport in May 2006, I found it run down, chaotic and shabby. Just getting into the building during the return flight was a nightmare. Once inside you then have to stumble your way around the airport finding the various security screening facilities. The booking in clerk also forgot to give me my passport back and my ticket! It took nearly two and a half hours from battling to get in the front door to getting to the gate, and in the end we had to be moved to the front of the various lines just to be able to get to the plane in time. Miss this place if you can!

Delhi Airport by Mike Scott
30 April 2006

Used Delhi several times in March and April. First experience of India and did I have to learn the experience. Baggage on first arrival at international terminal took over and hour to come through - at 3 in the morning. But the rest of arrival was OK. Departure through domestic was usual queues to get past over beauracratic guards. No facilities inside and airline had cancelled flight. However, when I had new flight with new airline was through security in 2 mins - probably as it was the day India beat England in Delhi - we were the butt of many comments. Back through International from Sri Lanka to get flight to UK on 5 April. Arrival OK and baggage quick. Then nowhere to spend 7 hours between flights. Transit lounge only if you paid - not on principle because of the rudeness of door guard - once they have a uniform they think they rule the world, rudely. Finally, into terminal after queuing for an hour. Then queue for security. Immigration officials obviously work on competition to see who can make their queue wait the longest - mine won the months prize! Then another hour queue for second security check to get to gates - fortunately not a queue I had to join as BA flight from a side gate. Lounge was adequate, but no more, and overcrowded. All in all this airport was everything I expected and worse.

Delhi Airport by Martin Liepmann
20 April 2006

Living now in India means I have to use IGI airport regularly. Arrivals is usually fine with immigration and baggage claim hardly taking more than 30 minutes. Except once when people could not even get off the escalator, coming down from the arrivlas concourse into the immigration hall as it was packed with people. Having said that arrivals is usually more or less okay, departure is most of the time a royal pain. The departure hall is always packed with massive queues for each and everything. It has taken me more than an hour to wai in line for my passport to be checked, only to stand in line for luggage screening for another hour. The facilities at the airport are poor, toilets are dirty and even the lounges are nothing special (to put it mildly). Departing from IGI in Delhi has not once been easy for me. Admittedly this is India and things work different. I am not expecting an airport like Dubai os Chiangi in Singapore, but the international airport is simply uncapable of coping with the amount of passengers, too old and not looked after properly. ANd be sure to have a tag for each piece of carry on luggage, which has to be stamped after screening. Otherwise it cannot be taken on board and has to be screened again

Delhi Airport by Jane Fletcher
18 April 2006

In transit for 5 hrs at Indira Ghandi Airport , all I can say take a good book as there is nothing to do!! Apart from the Internet cafe, which in fairness was clean and fast. Very little in the way of food and drink. Not an experience I would willingly repeat! Not impressed with duty free.

Delhi Airport by Abhinav Shrey
15 March 2006

Arrived at Delhi domestic airport from Mumbai. The signs for conveyor belts for the luggage of all flights were prominently displayed. But the airport had a shabby appearance compared to the international one. Like Dubai and Mumbai, no one checked who was taking how many luggages. God knows why this practice exists!! The receiving area was quite small compared to the amount of air traffic this airport handles. And I was told, my flight was still being shown airborne even after I had collected my luggage and walked out of airport. Desperately needs a facelift!

Delhi Airport by George Santulli
13 March 2006

Having read the negative comments about Indira Ghandi Airport in New Delhi, I was looking for a bad experience, but other than a few annoyances, it was fine. True the airport is rather dour, but arrival was swift and efficient. My bags were there on the carousel and I got out in about 20 minutes. Departure was not too bad. I was met by some "airport" workers who assisted me with my bags to the Xray screening machine and then politely asked for a tip - they did have an official looking blue uniform on that said Aviation Services, but who knows if it was really official, but in any case, they did help with the bags. Check-in at Lufthansa was slow, even for Business Class checkin. THey didn't not have enough personnel and the checkin was slow. It was further made difficult by some airport official trying to take the guy who was standing behind me, in front of me - I stood my ground and demanded to the Lufthansa agent that it was clearly my turn, not his, and they both backed off. The guy didn't look like an Indian official or special person, but obviously the airport guy did! Other than that, it is just a tired looking airport in need of a total makeover.

Delhi Airport by Karl Moosbrugger
5 March 2006

Mixed experiences with Delhi airport. Arrival at the international terminal was fine. Immigration control was quick and the officers friendly, and I was out with my luggage in about 20 minutes. Total difference upon international departure. Fought about 30 mins just to get into the airport, baggage screening took one hour. Check-in was completed in 40 seconds. One hour queue just to get through immigration and another 45 mins for security check. Completely insane. Airport is way too small for so many international flights leaving at the same time and airport staff is completely incompetent. Domestic terminal is better. Terminal itself shoddy, but staff efficient and polite.

Delhi Airport by Mike Callaghan
27 January 2006

I arrived, was through immigration, purchased my rupees and into my taxi within twenty minutes. The staff were friendly and helpful - including Money Exchange and Immigration. I found no difficulty in the signs. Only criticism is the lack of shops and good food outlets and restaurants.

Delhi Airport by Tessa Shaw
11 January 2006

We flew back from Delhi Airport on January 2nd 2006, and despite the fact that our flight was delayed by some 2.5 hrs we were kept informed of the delay, were offered a free breakfast care of Gulf Air, and met with nothing but politeness and efficiency. The departures board appeared to be reasonably accurate as well. There were numerous security checks along the way, and although check in took a while, it was nothing worse than we'd experienced at Heathrow on the way out. There were several catering outlets open for business. In addition we were greeted by the smell of thousands of rose petals which had been scattered outside to wish pilgrims well on their journeys. It's not modern, but from our experience was far more positive than for others. There's also a place to charge your mobile phones for free which was really helpful.

Delhi Airport by Rich Jenkins
6 January 2006

Not the worst airport in the region, but hardly fitting for an international capital. It reminds me of Manila or Tan Son Nhat (Saigon/HCMC): outmoded airports in smaller cities, except Tan Son Nhat has better air conditioning and and more diversions. In general, the problems of this airport are an accumulation of small things that make it annoying. The airport is more servicable for arrivals than departures, indeed, the arrival experience is less chaotic than in places like Bangkok. Departures from this airport tend to be late in the evening or in the wee hours of the morning, although practicality often leads people to arrive at saner hours - unfortunately, there is little to amuse or feed people before ticketing. The ventilation system consists of fans & having an open door. I absentmindedly left a small pack behind and discovered that no one seems to notice unattended bags. The process of queuing generates chaos and the lines for immigration are slow. The one snack bar inside the terminal was closed for 30 minutes, despite the departure hall being packed. The signage is confusing and inconsistent - one entry way is various described as only for British Airways, restricted, or available to all. Things are no better once you clear immigration. The restaurant with a "well stocked bar" tuned out to be a coffee shop-type place that reeked of stale cigarette smoke and seemed filled with stale smokers. The other culinary choice is a Subway sandwich shop. One of the duty free shops (the one with highly promoted Cuban rums & cigars) was pretty barren. The security screening is thorough - foil wrappers on cough drops tripped the metal detector, but your belongings are ill treated through x-ray. No effort to protect fragile items. The departure areas are an odd collection of multiple gates, with little diversion, inadequate space, and no a/c. In hot weather, the entire airport must be really miserable. The integration with ground transportation is not great - if you come from another city (e.g., Jaipur) by bus, you must contend with some amount of backtracking (in my case, it was in a tuk-tuk driven by a gentleman with an apparent death wish - no car taxis from the nearest junction). There is no direct link other than taxis to the train. Ironically, I had a much better experience at the small regional airport near Siliguri - a simple fairly pleasant restaurant with decent food, a functioning ventilation system and helpful staff. The government is looking at bids to redo Delhi airport and the one in Mumbai. My guess is that relief will not come soon enough.

Delhi Airport by Kurt Müller
19 December 2005

Having on a number of occasions waited for arriving passengers at Delhi's international terminal, I remain to be impressed by how the normal standards of informing the public seem to be entirely unknown here. Flight arrival timings on the information board are totally erratic. On one occasion, the arrival time of my wife's flight was shown as delayed until 2330. At 2305, she walked out from the baggage hall. On another occasion, the same TG flight was shown as "on time", but in fact landed nearly 2 1/2 hours later. The other day, our company representative was waiting for a passenger arriving by LX4650. No such flight was shown on the arrivals board and our rep spent close on one hour establishing that this was a code share with AC. It's hard to imagine that this country apparently thrives on outsourced IT work, when there is neither information nor technology available domestically.

Delhi Airport by Michael R Preston
9 October 2005

Having travelled through this airport at least 10 times in the last 3 years, I have to disagree with those who have strongly criticised it. It certainly doesn't deserve any awards for modernity, but it's a functional airport and the staff are always efficient and usually very pleasant as well. The Indians are hard working and competent people and they tend to make things work even under difficult circumstances, and I've never had a problem at Delhi airport, which I've used for international, domestic, and regional flights. It's cleaner than most airports in developing countries and certainly more efficient. The prepaid taxi system works well and enables you to avoid the harmless but intimidating crowds of touts. My main criticism is the lack of decent catering facilities, although if you have access to the business class lounges this is less of a problem.

Delhi Airport by David Lin
16 September 2005

Arriving and finding transportation in Delhi is a nightmare. Going thru customs is a joke. The customs people are rude and literally make a point of throwing back your passport at you just to show they are desensitized to basic manners - finding a taxi is just as bad. While i was advised to "prepay" for a taxi once I exited customs, you are forced to take your taxi payment stub, exit outside the airport into the madness that is Delhi, and miraculously find your taxi which matches your stub - all in the middle of this chaotic sea of taxis, touts, and hustlers. Upon departing the airport and leaving Delhi, you run into another problem in trying to change my money from Rupees into either Dollars or Yen. The workers at both the Thomas Cook Currency Change Desk as well as the other Currency Change Desk were rude. I was dismissed with a simple "NO" from both booths. Apparently, the booths weren't open yet in the mornings (despite the crowds of travelers). Yet, these Change Desk people had enough time to sit idly and chat with their friends. Leaving Delhi for Hong Kong was like going from the stone age to the future, unfortunately.


Delhi Airport by Lynne Reid
29 August 2005

Had the same door access problem as previous contributors, but bravely hauled the trolleys up the road. No-one to see us off but it seemed that only passengers could get in, so goodbyes on the road it seems. Very limited shopping opportunities - this airport is missing out on a goldmine, what else is a girl to do for an hour or so but shop! However the major plus about this airport which is totally unpublicised (no signs whatsoever) is that you can smoke in the bars upstairs. Wow. Very politically incorrect these days, but there were an awful lot of us up there nursing coffees and tipping heavily to keep our treasured table. Such a pleasure not to end up in the chamber of death (called the smoking room in other airports) I forgive it all other shortcomings (like credit card machins that only accept Amex, shops that won't take your left over rupees - you can't spend Indian rupees in an Indian airport but dollars and pounds are greedily welcomed, go figure). Beats Mumbai airport hands down!


Delhi Airport by Kevin Bishop
8 August 2005

Something important for all passengers flying with Air India on a domestic service. These flights depart from the International terminal which can be hell on earth. My experience is trying to get to my AI domestic flight which departed at 01:40. This flight coincides with four international departures. Imagine this, if you can, the passengers for four Boeing 747's and my flight, going through security at the same time! There were only three officials on duty, suffice to say, I missed my flight. One last point, to access the terminal you need to have a valid flight ticket, and as with me, if you have to exit the terminal, you have to be signed-out by a member of the airline's staff. I missed my flight at 01:40 and got out of the terminal at 03:25!! Please take heed as it ruined my trip.


Delhi Airport by David Lim

29 June 2005

IGI Airport will never win any awards, but I thought it was OK. On arrival, from touching down to getting in a taxi took around 20 minutes. On departure, from being dropped off to getting through the final security check took about 25 minutes. Everything was reasonably efficient and straightforward. The only negative was the limited shopping in the departure area - in particular, the lack of a book shop. Overall, a satisfactory experience, and certainly not the nightmare time which others claim to have had!


Delhi Airport by Gareth Duhig

1 January 2005

What a dump! Each flight is assigned an entry door which makes no sense at all considering everyone has to put their luggage through security which is by the central doors. Like many on my flight outside we were directed to the far door to the left & went straight to check in not knowing we had to have our luggage security cleared before check in there are no signs telling this either & maybe this was why our flight was still checking in when it should be in the air. If you have money to change you have to do so before you go through to departures as there is no facility there, yet the vendors only accept Rupees! There are a few overpriced shops a few food places inc a Subway tucked away out of sight. We counted at least 10 mice while waiting for our flight so maybe it was good we didn't have any rupees left! You then have to go through security to be held in a mirrored room that must be one of the most uncomfortable places to wait. You can't see any daylight only yr reflection in the mirrored windows & they have a terrible mosquito problem.


Delhi Airport by Bert van der Honing

30 September 2004

Very busy. It is hard to get in with all those ´visitors´ just outside the doors. Silly security procedures. Hall and toilets very dirty. A shame for a busy airport like this. The woman behind the counter in the (big) tax free shop swapped my 100 us dollar note for a 10 us dollar note when I was looking for my passport. I did not have a 10 dollar note on me anyway. They just try - disgraceful!


Delhi Airport by Ranjit Koshi

6 June 2004

Departure from IGI at terminal 1B is very uncomfortable. The check in area is way too small for rush hour check-in's, and the departure lounge has inadequate seating, leaving a fair number of passengers standing, awaiting their boarding calls. Also being such a busy airport in India, IGI should consider airbridges at the domestic terminal.


Delhi Airport by I Chakrabarty

9 March 2004

THOMAS COOK at the departure area of Delhi Airport is a crying shame. It took me a total of 50 minutes to go through the process,( I should have put that money in the charity box for good karma.) Queue jumping is rampant. The staff did not have the decency or more importantly the courage to ask people to line up and take their turn. When I brought this to the counter attendants notice, he gave me a blank stare. Slow and much computer tapping. So much for privatisation. If you are flying through Delhi report at least 4 hours prior to departure. Security check takes 40 mins, check in 40 min, Money change 50 min, immigration 50 mins ( They have immigration counters for specific airlines ) Make sure you are in the right queue.


Delhi Airport by Charanjeet Singh

15 February 2004

I've been to Delhi Airport a 3-4 times when I go to India. All I see is the same all the time. Its always quiet, boring, and not much going on. Relatives and friends who come to collect you are not even allowed in the Airport. This I dislike the most. I mean I've been to other airports and it not like this. The staff who help with luggage etc are always asking for money they know your british or from another western country. There is need for a lot of development in Delhi Indira Gandhi International.


Delhi Airport by Sanjeev Vasishtha

12 February 2004

My experience at Indira Gandhi airport has been excellent. I come there every year and only see improvements. This trip, I left 4 bags behind by mistake, they not only kept them for me in the lost and found, but also sealed them as they were not locked!! People have always been polite and helpful.


Delhi Airport by Nessa Keogh

31 October 2003

A dump! Everything I'd ever heard about Delhi airport proved to be true when I recently had to use it on a trip to India. The basics of modern air travel seem to have bypassed this dismal shed - only comparable with Athens in the bad old days (remember the cow shed?) I was lucky in retrospect that I flew out on Diwali and the airport was fairly quiet, but I cannot imagine what it must be like in busy periods. A sense of chaos pervades the place, and once you've checked in, you then have to go to a security area to put your hand luggage through the x-ray machine - this was situated in the middle of nowhere and there were no discernible signs to direct you to it. Okay when the airport is not busy, but I dread what it must be like at other times. Customs is slow and much tapping on a computer keyboard and stamping of paper seems to be the norm. The duty free area is about the worst I've ever come across - it is not possible to even buy newspapers or magazines. The only modicum of comfort is the Raj Lounge, where friendly staff are on hand to serve welcome drinks. Apart from that, there may have been one kiosk selling Nescafe. Going through to the departure lounge proved yet another obstacle - tags were required for hand luggage. As I received none on check-in, I enquired of the security office where I could get one. He gesticulated wildly to some other corner of the airport and carried on being rude to other travellers. Eventually, I stopped one of the airport staff who kindly gave me one of these tags. She informed me that the security officer should have given me one. When I returned to the queue to go through security again, I noticed that there was a whole stack of these tags on a chair behind the said security officer. The mind boggles! My advice is to only go to Dehli airport as a last resort!


Delhi Airport by Sukhwinder Kaur

13 October 2003

We go to India every 2-3 years and have seen the very slow progress in last 20 years. The airport authorities need to look closely at the immigration and customs area. The queues are back to the escalators and the staff is always very slow and so rude that they don't care about the visitors who have been in the long flights, they just take their time. On top of that there are all those people who surround you the minute you get out from the immigration process to pick up your bags, who don't really want to help you but to make money out from your misery. I love India and I am proud of my Origin but when these things happen and all those people who come to India for good experiences start their journey with very negative experience, it is frustrating and it hurts.


Delhi Airport by Kamal Kant Sehgal

1 August 2003

My sister-in-law left for Newark, USA with her two kids from New Delhi by KLM flight 23/24th July 2003. During checking of her luggage at the airport, some of the bags were found to by overweight by 1 - 2 Kgs. The person manning the counter demanded 140 dollars each to get the luggage cleared. She refused to pay anything and unloaded some of the goods. Earlier on her arrival to India, the person who helped her take the luggage to the exit demanded 50 dollars for the job. She ended up paying 10 dollars to him. Recently a sister of my friend who came to India from the US had a similar experience. It seems these practices are common at the Indira Gandhi International Airport - if it goes unchecked will tarnish our image irreparably as corrupt nation. 


Delhi Airport by P Brar

24 June 2003

I am a Canadian of Indian origin and every time I go to Delhi I find the airport to be unclean and smelly. The staff also, especially at Customs, tend to be impolite and cold . The Indian government really needs to spend some money to improve the facility, as it is sub par with the international standard.


Delhi Airport by Karan Jain

20 June 2003

I agree with Mr. Chattopadhyay, that IGIA is quite efficient, and has made progress in improving its appearance. More shops would be welcome. The lack of descriptive signs can be a source of frustration for a first-time traveller. For instance, there is plenty of ground transportation, but clear signs to it would lessen confusion considerably. Seeing as to how Delhi is rapidly embracing Information Technology, a dynamic airport web site and wireless kiosks would be VERY helpful additions.

 

 




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