Kolkata Airport

I have heard and read some bad reviews about the old terminal but now that the new terminal is open they should get rid of all the bad reviews on here because it no longer is applicable. This terminal is massive and structurally magnificent. You can tell its a unique Kolkata airport because of all the artwork present inside the terminal.

We were very lucky to use the new terminal terminal 2 of the NSCBI Airport on our CCU-BLR indigo flight. Its a new concept and some world class touches can be seen. The entrance area was good but some new shops are needed inside. One thing which disappointed me was the aerobridges remained idle we were taken by buses to board the aircraft. This is a unique thing which you can see in Kolkata. On our arrival I noticed that the toilets were filthy fully water laden. Overall one sentence is perfect for this airport - mammoth building but as usual filthy toilets!

I have had the misfortune to have to use CCU several times in the last decade. Travelling in from London via various airlines including BA Jordan and Air India and staying in Kolkata for 2-3 weeks I have always been disappointed at the absolute lack of facilities airside - no shops to browse no internet facilities. Arrivals is always chaos with staff at the immigration desks acting as if they have just crawled out of bed with no sense of urgency and barely any courtesy to tired passengers! I have used the Domestic terminal on a couple of occasions which I found to be much better than international. For some reason they think it's acceptable to be more efficient in the domestic terminal than in the international one. How does this make Kolkata look to international travellers. The toilets are shocking and the security staff rude! To be honest this is the worst part of my visit to India and it has put me off going.

We flew from the old domestic terminal which is due to be replaced by a new terminal within the next couple of months. Terminal entrance to plane our tickets were checked ten times our identity papers three times and our bags were x-rayed twice – security is intense (and reassuring). There are few passenger facilities either landside or airside. Despite its age and a sense of chaos the airport worked fine for us and all queues moved at a reasonable pace.

Immigration on arrival is fairly quick although staff are not friendly. Departing both internationally and domestically is a bit of a disaster. There is nothing to do airside and the facilities are very old and overused. Security is very tight and staff are fairly hostile.

Domestic arrivals was actually ok with internet cafes ATM money exchange plenty of seating to wait and baggage arrived quickly. I arrived 3 hours prior to my flight to Dhaka and although the airline said check-in was 3 hours prior to departure there was nobody there. When I finally got to check-in my bag the queue to immigration was long with at least 200 pax and the closer I got to the desks the more chaos I saw. Staff were running around looking for passengers shouting etc. At least the security guy smiled. I arrived 3 hours before and did not have to wait more than 10 mins after security to board my flight that describes the queuing one has to expect here. I was relieved to leave this airport.

Travelled through domestic airport from Ranchi and the domestic is amongst the best in class for old airports. Down the steps into a comfortable bus quick ride to terminal then wait for luggage. Toilets on par with rest of Indian airports. A bit confusing as luggage belt was not clearly indicated for our flight. Then international. The guest area looks and feels world class. Checking area is dark and but efficient queues are monitored check-in luggage screened and then quick check-in. Immigration is better than before with lots of officers and polite ones! Sadly upstairs is truly disgusting an embarrassment to the international city of Kolkata. The toilets were horrendous and did not look like they had been cleaned in a decade. Rubbish bins buzzed with flies. Too many officials dressed too casually. Outdated chairs. No decent food for a 3 hour wait. Broken window panes. Not sure how long before the new international gets up but please hurry up!

Security checks to enter the international terminal were slow. Check-in was quick we were escorted through the entire process probably because we'd invested in business class for this part of the journey. The Clipper Lounge was not great but OK. Traffic was quiet the evening we were there. Lighting is pretty unflattering and it is a bit grubby but my partner who'd been through 12 years ago was amazed at the improvement. Arrival at the newer domestic terminal was similarly painless. Relieved not to be assailed by touts beggars etc grabbing luggage from the carousel on arrival and demanding tips as had been the case 12 yrs earlier. The new terminal under construction is sorely needed but all in all the whole experience was quite good.

This is probably the worst international terminal I have seen. Nothing looks clean nothing seems to work properly. The best thing about the airport is the relative lack of passengers. Check-in relatively easy once past the numerous security checks. Between check-in and departure lounge more security checks. These seem the serve no purpose other than keeping military staff employed. 'Duty Free shop' - a small kiosk selling alcohol and cigarettes - is outside the departure lounge and hardly worth looking in. Once through the final security there is little in the lounge. Rows of old uncomfortable seats and three small uninspiring and expensive shops. The only interesting activity was to watch the cockroaches running across the floor. There are toilets in the lounge - but they are dirty. Overall an 'interesting' experience.

I used the terminal 2 which is the domestic terminal. Checking in was smooth and quick had no trouble at all. The departure lounge was small but clean. However the toilets were most certainly not clean. Security was thorough but quick. When I returned from Lucknow and Delhi the arrival was smooth. Had no trouble collecting my baggage and got a taxi easily.