DELHI AIRPORT review : 15 September 2008 : by J Headden

Customer Rating : 1/5

If there was ever a competition for 0 stars, Delhi would win without question. Filthy, and disorganized to the point of being chaotic. I was outbound in business class on Continental and unfortunately the lounge which Continental uses is also used by all other airlines except Air India which has its own. It also is quite dirty. A roach crawled by as I was working on my laptop (wi-fi requires on-line payment).

DELHI AIRPORT review : 2 September 2008 : by Kurt Müller

Customer Rating : 2/5

Clearly, there is a lot of construction and renovation work going on at Delhi, particularly visible at the domestic section. However, most sane people will be unable to understand the overly complicated access system to the airport. First entrance door: show your e-ticket. You are then in what appears to be ticket lobby, with the x-rax machines beyond in sight. Now some pretty girl with "may I help you?" approaches you. But instead of helping you, she asks for your photo ID, making you pull out the same ticket you showed 10 yards back already - plus passport. But you are still kept back from the x-ray equipment, this time by a uniformed guard who (you guessed it) wants to see your ticket and your ID all over again. Given that you can print a fake e-ticket at home anyway, what is the point in all this? Would I be as stupid as to print my own ticket using someone else's name so I would definitely not get into the building? I shall not even try to recall the times someone stamps your boarding pass and/or cabin luggage tag. Why does all this have to be so overly adverse to a smooth flow of pax?

DELHI AIRPORT review : 29 August 2008 : by V Sekhon

Customer Rating : 1/5

Flew to Delhi Via Shanghai. Off the plane and in queue at immigration. The line was not so bad but the washroom to the left wreaked of something. Through immigration and on to baggage claim in no time. Waiting for the baggage and the lights go off in the whole hall. My first reaction: grab my wallet and place it in my inner coat pocket and hold my carry on bags tightly. Luckily, power back on after a minute of darkness. Had pre-arranged a bus ticket before leaving, but since the flight got delayed in Shanghai, needed to call the bus service to make alternate arrangements. Out through customs and asked around for a phone, was told its a 30Rs charge. Hoards of people (none of them seem to have anyone arriving) just standing around and yelling at you (couldnt even make out what was being said). Departure: an absolute nightmare. Got to the airport about 5 hours before scheduled departure. Tried to get in, was told to come back 3 hours prior to departure. Waited in the expensive departure lounge and saw my flight get delayed and delayed for a total of 9 hours. Finally got in, through baggage scan. Greeted by unexpectedly nice guy who insisted on picking up my bags, through X-ray and tie them up - until he put my bags on the buggy and asked me for money. Got my boarding passes, tags and everything. Fooled by the guard before immigration, twice. As nobody told the pax on what part of the departure form to fill. Security was a breeze and the painful wait by the gate. Was glad to be out of there. I will be going back again in January but dont expect any improvement.

DELHI AIRPORT review : 12 August 2008 : by S Datta

Customer Rating : 3/5

Much improved since the last time I used it. I flew into the international terminal - immigration area still shabby but processing is quicker and more organised. Was out in about 10 mins, though had a 15-min wait to get luggage. However, the big improvement is at the international departures, which was the weakest point. The entry concourse looks much bigger, brighter, and is well-lit. What is more, there is no more jostling to get in - instead, there were (short, orderly) queues at each gate (and the staff seemed able to tell you which gate you should use). the restrooms outside the visitors' lounge were also new, clean, and well-kept. once inside, the ridiculous checked-baggage- screening requirement and attendant long disorderly chaotic queues are gone - so check-in was a breeze, and so was security. The terminal is still small, and sure it gets worse than this at the most crowded times.

DELHI AIRPORT review : 29 July 2008 : by David Leston

Customer Rating : 2/5

What an absolute nightmare. Both the domestic and international terminals are dirty and staffed by people who are unable to give any help to passengers with their questions. Once the massive construction program is completed I expect that the infrastructure itself will be much improved, but I'm at a loss to see how they're going to improve the overall passenger experience, if they don't train their staff in the basics of customer service.

DELHI AIRPORT review : 23 May 2008 : by J Roseau

Customer Rating : 3/5

I feel some of the criticism on this forum about Delhi Airport is unfair. Agreed that there are long queues and some of the staff can leave you shaking your head in disbelief. But at the same time things are changing and it seems for the better. Lets just hope that the numerous signs and photos of the upcoming facilities are true and Delhi does get its long overdue proper airport. I also traveled via the new airport in Hyderabad built by the same company that operates Delhi. If that is any indicator, Delhi hopefully should turn out good too.

DELHI AIRPORT review : 19 May 2008 : by P Singh

Customer Rating : 1/5

Horrendous. My wife and I were in transit at the Delhi airport last night and I can't begin to describe our experience. Absolutely horrendous, no signs for transit, noisy, immensely long waiting times to get a boarding card for our DEL - Chicago flight, dirty, smelly, and rude. Lots of people walking about but very little gets done and no one has answers. The staff were all confused and worse yet, exceptionally rude and condescending. We had to hand over our passports to an ill identified staff from American Airlines to get our boarding cards for our onward journey, as you can imagine we were very apprehensive about somebody taking off with our passports, we protested but to no avail. If you are a transit passenger be careful about who you hand your passport to in order to get your boarding card for the next leg of your journey. An older British gentleman protested and they didn't take his passport so perhaps that it the way to go. The security check was a joke. If the Delhi Airport is suppose to be ones first impression of the political slogan "Indian Shining" we saw very little shining going on here.

DELHI AIRPORT review : 29 April 2008 : by Randall Kingsley

Customer Rating : 1/5

Delhi is the worst international airport I have ever experienced. I forgave the long lines to clear immigration on arrival on the basis that there seemed to be some unusual work being done in this area of the airport. But the disorganised mess that is the departures area when leaving a few weeks later was almost unbelievable. Bags security process working intermittently and in some adhoc area of the room, extremely long lines after check in to clear immigration, a poorly equipped and disfunctional lounge area with the whole place being very dirty. How India is going to fix this mess for the next Commonwealth Games is beyond me and I guess that in the meantime, there will be hundreds of poor passengers like me, trying to get out of this airport as quickly as possible.

Delhi Airport by Peter Berger

16 April 2008   Customer Rating :

IGI boasts to be "one of the best airports of the world" (have a look at the huge ads when you arrive!). Obviously not one of the people responsible for such a nonsense have ever been abroad and/or seen a perfect working airport!? IGI is definitely the worst organized and most run down airport I have ever seen in 5 continents and more than 20 years flying around this globe!

Delhi Airport by A Jones

15 April 2008   Customer Rating :

International Arrivals: A lot of construction is going on at Indira Ghandi airport, so getting off the plane and towards baggage is a bit depressing. We waited at least an hour to get our luggage. It seemed that Priority luggage was left to last as I could see other Business passengers waiting as long as we did. Immigration and Customs were fine. International Departures: As we had transferred to International Departures from a domestic flight we were 5 hours early for our flight. This meant we had to sit in a soulless and uncomfortable hall for which we paid 30 rupees each for two hours before we could check in. The alternative was to sit outside on the pavement, as many locals appeared to be doing. Check-in was very efficient, though the clerk did not tell me to pick up a Departure card from the tray next to the counter, so I had to walk back and get one before going through Immigration. The queuing was haphazard at Immigration because of the way thet counters were arranged. One sort of leapt sideways from the queue to get to an officer. We would have gone straight through final security and got stuck airside except that a nice airport or airline lady directed us up to the Lounge before we did. I was in fact aware of this potential problem, but, even so, almost fell into the trap. The lounge was really substandard, but at least the chairs were comfy and it was good to relax after the big waiting hall. I hope the reconstructed airport will remove a lot of these problems, but I wonder whether the airport managers really think about passenger comfort and convenience. Domestic: Despite the security overkill, our domestic flights (with Deccan) were very efficient. If domestic terminal and flight managers can do things so well, why can't their international counterparts?

Delhi Airport by Paula Loguda

9 April 2008   Customer Rating :

The horrors of Delhi airport begin in the jammed approach. At 11pm many people lie sleeping on the sidewalks to be present "for tomorrow's flight". There is an enormous mass of people & luggage -- plus touts-- swarming or trying to follow a queue through the airport door. This journey is slowed by the doorside checking of travel credentials. The line slowly wends inside where checkable luggage is x-rayed and tied. There is inadequate signage/ screens but some 'help desk' personnel confer and then point the way to our check-in counter. This part was pretty standard. Then on to other lines through Immigration, then through security. Be certain to get your carry on items stamped as passed or you won;t board. This process took almost 2.5 hours! Past security, there are swarms of people, few screens, unclear public address announcements and a very few food outlets. We headed for 'Subway' which offered an Italian sub w. lamb pepperoni and similar choices. Then sipped water as our business class lounge was before all of this security. I consider this a 'nightmare' airport.

Delhi Airport by Vijayakumar Arumugam

12 March 2008   Customer Rating :

I recently used the Delhi domestic airport twice for my trip from Chennai to Delhi and then for the return trip. The exit from the airport to the area, where the cabbies wait with the signboards has become a mess from the relatively orderly position that was the hallmark of the airport a few months ago. Most of the airlines staff could converse only in Hindi and GMR may want to give them some training on English. The toilets didn’t contain paper towels, nor did they flush properly. Though the area beyond the security check has a few eating outlets like McDonald’s, it would be great to have a few more bookstores or some stores. The air-conditioning didn’t work at all in most parts of the airport.

Delhi Airport by Paul Decraene

10 March 2008   Customer Rating :

With my flight scheduled at 2.1am, I arrived at the airport at 10.4pm. It took me 1 hour to get into the airport, and 2 more hours to arrive at the gate, 30 minutes before take off. But my flight got delayed almost 2 hours because some 100 passengers could not make it in time through the chaos. Security checks are a mockery : though the scanning machines are manned with dozens of airport workers, almost nobody checks the screens. The airport proudly announces the renovations going on, but although the appearance of the airport will change with a lot of marble and glittering steel and glass, the overall incompetence and lack of working ethic of the airport will remain the same. This is the third time since 2005 I used this airport, and the situation became worse every time.

Delhi Airport by S Kumaresan

7 March 2008   Customer Rating :

I arrived at the airport around 1030 pm to get the Swiss flight to Zurich at 0155am. There was no sign boards to direct thousands of people who gathered at that time. It took one hour for me to enter into the scanning counter having checked with many people. Another one hour to screen my luggage. I spent two hours and fortunately the flight was delayed. Another one hour for immigration checking. Another one hour for security check. I was on board at the last call. It took four hours to board the plane. Imagine the old passengers and passengers with kids.

Delhi Airport by Gordon Campbell

4 March 2008   Customer Rating :

Flew out of Delhi on early morning 29th Feb, I have never seen anything like it in my life. The bag screening is a free for all and done in the same area as check in, check in desks have bits hanging off and the staff are impolite and unhelpful. Going through hand luggage security was diabolical, it took three hours. There was no organisation or information provided as people who had started out with plenty of time to spare started realising there flights were due to leave. I only got on my flight because Emirates as did the other airlines hold up their departure time. The words that come to mind, are, dump, shambles and flatten the place and start again.

Delhi Airport by Charles Haydar

25 February 2008   Customer Rating :

An absolute disgrace! Delhi a world-class airport (as the new renovation signs would like you to believe)? You are having a joke! As others have described, trying to get into the terminal is a real effort - no, it is more than an effort - it takes pure disregard for fellow travellers to push and shove your way through the throngs of non travelling Indians (the goodbye crowd) crowding the miniscule entrance doors to the Terminal. Absolute chaos and mayhem. Luckily I am a frequent traveller (and physically large) and I have learnt that when in Delhi, do as the Delhians and so, I proceeded to drop any semblance of decorum and pushed and shoved my way into the terminal. I ought to have been ashamed - but given the circumstances - I had little choice. Once in the terminal things are slightly better - just. I paid an official employee of the airport two hundred rupees to jump the queue to get my luggage through the "security check". Security check? That's another joke - employees simply going through the motions of looking at a security screen as your luggage goes through a conveyor belt before being bounded with a plastic band. 200 rupees does the trick! After spending time in the "business" lounge (which is BEFORE security), with twenty minutes prior to boarding, we were called to the gate by a (Lufthansa) representative. The queue to get through security was, without any exaggeration, at least a 100 metres long - it would have taken an hour to have been processed. It took arguing with the Lufthansa rep before the business class passengers, just recently called from the lounge to board the flight, were allowed to pass through a "Fast Track" (common everywhere else) and then the gate - for some reason Indians have no concept of either priority boarding or boarding by row number. As occured outside the terminal, the throngs blocked the boarding gate hoping to be first to board regardless of the premium passengers or families with small children. An experience to, unfortunately, be remembered for all the wrong reasons. In time, I suppose, it will appear comical. Wonderful city, with wonderful people - unfortunately served by one of the world's worst international airports - absolute chaos.

Delhi Airport by S Srinivasan

21 January 2008   Customer Rating :

Used Domestic Terminal I-B recently, which has been recently refurbished. It's much better than it used to be. The entry area has been improved, with better signage and an actually attractive appearance. New waiting areas have also been installed between the initial entry door and the checkpoint where your ticket/e-receipt is checked. Once inside, the airline check-in desks have been expanded and improved, as have been the baggage X-ray machines. Biggest improvements have been to the restrooms; they are actually comparable to facilities you would find in Western airports and were kept clean. There are also a couple of new coffee shops selling snacks/drinks (though still overpriced). Lack of seating in the check-in area is still a problem, especially in the Jet Airways side of the terminal. Also, once past the security check, there's still a serious lack of stuff to do in the holding area. Will be interesting to see if these improvements find their way to Terminal I-A, or even better, the truly awful International Terminal.

Delhi Airport by Michael Scott

10 January 2008   Customer Rating :

I didn't think it was possible for Delhi airport to get any worse, but it has. The scrum at Entrance 2 is a disgrace - eventually we disregarded the orders we had been given, sauntered through Entrance 1 and jumped a queue of about 100 passengers. There is still nothing to do airside. There is a new news stand but, despite the sign, it does not actually stock any newspapers or magazines - just the usual sad selection of trinkets and overpriced tourist books. The duty-free shop is a rip-off - $7 for a bar of Cadbury's chocolate that costs £1.50 ($2.90) in any supermarket in the UK. Still nowhere to eat except a poor-quality Subway and a grubby, smoky cafe. And, to top it all, the ongoing renovations mean that there is now a fine film of dust over everything. This is the grimmest major airport in the world, and I wish I could give it zero stars.

Delhi Airport by Kenny Andreasen

30 November 2007   Customer Rating :

Security during transit took 3 hrs. We were standing hundreds of people in line while different confused Indians were running around screaming for passengers for flights that were about to leave. When we finally made it through, we were refused to enter our gate as we obviously hadn't got any stamps on our bags. What stamps? The guards didn't speak English, but we found out that we seemingly had forgot to ask for some stamps at the security desk to prove that we had been checked. This took another 30 minutes. Luckily, our flight waited for us. I never really found out if it was prohibited to smoke or not, but most of the airport staff were doing it in 2 different corners and just threw the cigarettes in the middle of nowhere. Overall airport impression - dirty, old, hard to get information in and non-existing service from the staff. Why isn't 0 stars an option?

Delhi Airport by Martin Jones

29 October 2007   Customer Rating :

Agree entirely with last two comments about International Departures, a nightmare of noise, standing around and Indian bureaucracy, even at 5am. Ensure you get your food & drink before going through security screening, there is very little the other side, and make sure you have toilet paper with you at all times! Quite the worst airport I have ever visited, and let's hope for something better before the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010.

Delhi Airport by Chris McQuaid

29 October 2007   Customer Rating :

I used DEL as my gateway into and out of India earlier this month. From touchdown to parking to Immigration was only 11 minutes - then a 12 minute queue, and then had to wait another 15 minutes for the baggage, despite being Business Class. There was only one working toilet for men in the arrival hall, and it was a squat toilet - surely by now Western-style toilets could be installed! It was easy enough to find my hotel's booked taxi driver beside the exit from Customs, but then we had a 10 minute hike over broken concrete and huge kerbs to the carpark, none of which did much good to my suitcase. Exiting the carpark was a nightmare for someone not used to Indian driving! The departure had its own peculiarities - as plenty of others have commented, non-passengers aren't allowed in the terminal, but the security queue at the entrance was only 3-4 minutes. On the advice of the clerk at one of the Forex desks I changed my remaining rupees into USD rather than Thai Baht, as the clerk said I would get a better exchange rate that way when I landed in Bangkok (he was right - nearly a 6% difference). Check-in was straightforward, as was Immigration, but the security was hopeless - nearly an hour to get through, although I had time to spare before my flight. There is plenty of room to install additional scanners - why not do this, and employ a few more people to speed up the process? As with Arrivals, there is only one set of toilets in the Departure hall, and only the disabled toilet is Western style (although I found that all toilets airside are Western style). Overall impression - the worst international airport I've ever used.

Delhi Airport by Nick Fortuna

23 October 2007   Customer Rating :

International Arrivals during the 2am peak was relatively painless - walk was brief, queues for passport control were mercifully short, and baggage made it out intact shortly thereafter. The arrival area is segregated with hotel/limo drivers on the right and remaining meets/greeters on the left. Was in car 20 min after touchdown. Departures was during the early morning lull. Plenty of folks camped out sleeping rough to give you that last taste if India. The luggage screening was quite busy meaning the queue snaked out into the drop-off area - complete with incessant tooting. At 5am no less. A friendly airport employee asked with airline I flew and then directed me to a different queue. And requested a tip for doing his job. Stay clear of people offering help with carrying your baggage - though that appears to be the fast track into the terminal building. The building itself was more befitting a run-down provincial airport than India's capital. Passport control took ages, but the officer was friendly and asked about my stay in India. Duty free area was poor, food options limited, and I did not see a book shop or newspapers on sale. Security was thorough, with segregated screening for ladies away from peering eyes. Nice touch. In all, a very basic provincial airport, run-down, dirty, and passenger unfriendly.

Delhi Airport by Tony Banwait

19 October 2007   Customer Rating :

Amritsar- London with a transit stop in Delhi. Was told to stay on board when the plane was in Delhi only to be told to 'get off' a few minutes later by a very loud Air India official. Since there a billion folks in this country who need employment, they have about twenty Delhi police officers doing the job of one. Was asked for passport and boarding pass approximately every nine and a half steps. Absolute madness in the departure lounge, people walking in all sorts of directions, numerous boarding announcements that were inaudible and Delhi police officers asking for boarding passes and passports even though they might have had no idea where you were heading. Finally got to board the aircraft only to be stopped about five times in the airbridge by you know who - Delhi police officers. At one point, two police officers in a span of two feet. A pathetic airport - a shame.