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Delhi Airport by Rishi Khandelwal
21 August 2007 Customer 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 :
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 : 
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 :
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 :
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 :
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 : 
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 :
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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