Delhi Airport

✅ Verified Review | Avoid this airport if at all possible. There are multiple signs around the airport that say it is rated as one of the best in the world. I would love to know who rated it so well, because this airport is run as if it were a prison. You can only move through it when they say you can. We had a 13 hour layover here due to a missed connection caused by an Indian domestic airline. We had business class tickets so we thought that at least we could comfortably spend those long hours in the business class lounge. Despite having paid thousands of dollars for business class we were told we could not access this lounge until 6 hours before our departure time. First we were held prisoners in a glass pen which had only one small kiosk with a minimal selection of food and no restrooms. To use the restrooms we had to leave the pen and go to the arrivals area. Every time we left and then re-entered this glass pen which the airport calls a "lounge" we had to present our passports and departure documents. Finally 6 hours before our flight time we were allowed to leave the glass pen. We then proceeded to the appropriate Indian airline Business Class departure desk. There we were told that we could not go through security (and arrive at the business class lounge) until 4 hours before flight time. To say that we were incensed is putting it mildly. Finally they agreed to allow us to advance through their prison system to the business lounge 5 hours before our flight time. The airline's ground personnel at the airport were unpleasant, unsympathetic, and unhelpful. The security officials were surly. Once we arrived at the Business Class Lounge our remaining hours in this prison called the Indira Ghandi Delhi International Airport passed smoothly. It is too bad that this airport is so highly regulated because the building is beautiful and well kept. But I will never, ever pass through this airport again. One does not pay for business class to be held prisoner in a glass pen for 7 hours!

I suppose it all depends on what time you arrive. This was my first trip to Delhi and after reading all the reviews I was dreading it. But, surprise surprise! Landed at 19.30 and from the plane to the taxi was 15 minutes. Five counters open at the e-visa counters and not one tourist, greeted warmly by the immigration officer who joked he and his colleagues were waiting just for me. Two days later we departed from the domestic terminal on Air Indigo to Chennai with no hassles whatsoever.

✅ Verified Review | The good: The airport building is good. Arrival: You arrive into this modern looking terminal, weird music playing and you get to the restrooms and the smell of urine hits you, voila you have arrived. The bored and tired immigration officers genuinely do not care about you and they will let you know. Getting your luggage out is usually hassle free and efficient, plenty of car booking and hotel options as you get out and if you are not careful whilst on your first pedestrian crossing you will get run over. There is a metro station and the train is superb for getting into the chaos of Delhi. Departure: At airline check in counters, you can expect good service but it is downhill from there as get to face the queues leading upto those endearing immigration officers. Rudeness and uncourteousness is what perhaps they are rigorously trained in and if so they are all doing a tremendous job! Scenario - family of four hands in four passport, boarding passes the lot, the guy throws it back at you and demands you hand those back to him one by one. Eating and drinking: Good options once in departure area, duty free shopping is not cheap by any means. You will see plenty of men wearing some king of badges seemingly loitering around.

This is hands down the worst airport in the world. I've flown to many many airports and this one takes the cake. The bathrooms are vile, the food choices are limited and the customer service is lacking the majority of the time. My husband and I have dubbed Delhi airport the Indian Purgatory - we were trapped in the "lounge" while we waited 10+ hours for our connecting flight to leave. We couldn't go outside, as we had a checked bag, but we couldn't go in to the area with a lounge and food, because our plane wasn't boarding within three hours. This really blows when you are transferring to another flight and the layover is longer than 3 hours. There are no signs on how to get from arrivals to international departure whatsoever. You just have to bumble along, hoping that 1 out of the 20 people you talk to will be polite and helpful. Today we literally had a customer service rep say "my name is Thomas Cook, not Air India" in response to my question about where we could get info from air India. Outrageously rude, for any culture. Of the 25 to 30 individuals we talked to during our visits through this awful place, only one of them was courteous and helpful. That's a pretty rotten ratio. Avoid this airport at all costs!

✅ Verified Review | What a disaster Delhi Airport is. Not only was it under construction meaning there were few shopping and dining outlets available but usual miserable surly staff at immigration and security - the latter was the slowest I have ever encountered, but they had the cheek to close the airport for an hour while they practised for the national day celebrations. This meant my flight was very much delayed and I only just made my connection in Dubai. Never again if I can help it will I fly from Delhi.

Big lineups at Delhi Airport immigration . The officer sounded tired and lazy and a lot of people were apparently frustrated as they were worried about the delay. Food court is small and has few choices. Custom people are poorly trained and lack courtesy. Overall, this is an airport with a new building, however the airport culture needs a revamp too.

✅ Verified Review | Delhi is one of the worst airport experiences ever. Arrived at terminal 1 at 11:30 am to board a 1:30 pm flight on Indigo airlines. The food court was packed to the brim with inadequate seating. The toilets are dilapidated and stink. The departure area is overcrowded and tv screens take forever to scroll to your flight details. The list goes on.

✅ Verified Review | If you value your time, avoid this dysfunctional airport. It's a new shiney building but that's the end of the modern facilities. Arrival at the immigration desk took 45 minutes in a line, as the finger print machines do not work properly. Driver booked to meet us could not come into arrivals as you have to pay 100 rupees, about USD1.50. Departure much worse, as you have to start lining up just to get into the departure terminal. The building was hot and airless, Air India line for check in another hour, and the exit line for immigration took almost another hour. Just shuffling along with a lot of hot and tired people at 2 am. It's difficult to understand how management of passengers can be so bad. Do the authorities want to discourage people from using this airport?

I always thought Delhi International Airport was one of the best but this thought was shattered on my recent visit. Firstly, the immigration during departure takes an eternity to get over and there is a serious lack of professionalism. Secondly, they claim to be the best airport in the world - I think they should send their managers to Singapore Changi to see what an airport should be like. Delhi lacks a good food court. The staff are quite rude, toilets are very dirty. Lastly, the WiFi - it doesn't connect and requires an Indian sim to get connected at all. This is simply pathetic. Overall, may be the airport managers need a reality check.

✅ Verified Review | Arrival was smooth and quick. Departure was a pain. Long line for security check before airport entrance. The guard takes forever to verify one passport. Immigration takes forever at 0100 hrs. Reaching the airport at midnight, using the Star Alliance gold check-in, at 0145, we're still stuck in the immigration line. Security check was awful. Unfriendly staff and you cannot attend to your belongings as the staff will chase you forward while your belongings are still stuck on the queue.