Delhi Airport

T3 living up to my expectations. New Delhi was requiring such a Fast transport Airport from many years. Thanks to GMR this dream has been engineered. Yet Some reasons make the International Standards feel and Look like National / Urban. Especially The Check out of multi-level parking. The Single Lane run to Exit from Multi-Level Car parking is Absurd. There is a 15min allowance from Payment to Exit time. This Time gets 200% Consumed in the Waiting lane on the Exit path of Multi-level Car parking. The Lane should have been Widened more.

Recently travelled to Dubai on Emirates and was pleasantly surprised by the new terminal 3. Modern clean efficient and crisp. Not comparable to KLIA or Dubai or ORD but a big improvement over the dump (old terminal 2). The staff are efficient no one asked for a tip or bribe. Immigration staff helpful though they take their time. Airport staff definitely polite and friendly. Airtel has a phone bank for free calls to the city. Helpful when you've just landed and don't have local SIM card. Mobile phone kiosk (Airtel) provides sim that cranks up in minutes. There is a Left luggage counter next to the Metro station and staff there are helpful. Downside: Food court pricey. Not much in the way of duty free shops. Immigration still takes times especially at peak hours (Late night & early morning ). Cant tell where the int terminal ends and domestic begins. Prepaid Taxiwallahs mostly courteous. Don't expect flash sedans. ( Some cabs are rickety old Ambassadors) Can do with a few more bureau de change kiosks in the arrival area. More Int dep and arrival info displays needed right around the terminal. If you are flying out of Delhi ALWAYS carry your printed e-ticket or they wont let you in. Carry Indian rupees if you want to snack in the food court. They don't take USD or credit cards. Delhi airport has come a long way and is way ahead of many airports in Asia and the Middle East. Give credit where credit is due.

I am originally from India myself and sadly Delhi and any airport in India for that matter leaves much to be desired. So far I have not used the new T-3 terminal because I have not been back since 2009. Seems like everything that happens there is chaotic from line-ups to get into the airport to boarding your flight. A few things I should warn you about specially if you've never been there before make sure you take your online flight schedule/ticket etc with you. I know it is only a printed piece of paper but the security personnel don't allow you inside unless you have it. No one is allowed inside the terminal unless he/she has a flight and they want to see the proof. Oh yes be ready to be checked at least three four times. Be ready to be approached by employees (from cleaners to policemen) asking for well let me just say some tip. Feel free to say a firm no. While trying to resolve something try to get to the highest possible official. One more thing don't expect any smiles greetings and or hellos (unless the other person is about to be paid).

One of the worst experiences by far that I've ever had in an international airport. Indian government has put a lot of effort into bringing this airport up to par with international standards and it shows in the infrastructure and amenities. Good job to them for that. BUT aside from the infrastructure what really disappointed me and hoards or other passengers around me was the lack of discipline of airport staff lack of knowledge of airport operations and in some cases even their lack of knowledge of English at all. I am an Indian by descent but never had the exposure to learn Hindi over the years. In many instances the immigration and security personnel refused to converse with me in English and kept asking questions in Hindi and looking at me when I did not have a reply. I came in on a connection flight and was flying out to Toronto. I had a total transit time of 2 hrs for the next flight. Although there were numerous staff walking around none were able to assist me in finding my next checkin counter despite my frenzy to catch the next flight. They even had the nerve to tell me that they do not work for the airline and to try and find someone who does. Extremely rude. Finally when I found the checkin counter myself and after waiting 30 mins in line the guy behind the counter tells me I have to fill in some form. When I enquired where to find the form without even lifting his head up says it should be lying around on the counter somewhere. The moment the gate opens its like every man for himself and no order at all. What I don't understand is past the gate and on the walk to the flight there must have been at least 5 points where you are stopped again and asked for passports. I finally thanked my stars when my flight took off and promised myself to pay extra $$ in the future to fly through any other airport but Delhi. I have seen very small cities that have far more organized airports and courteous staff than Delhi.

Changed planes from domestic to international. The airport itself is impressive and a huge improvement compared to the old terminal but the security checks between domestic & international and international and international are badly planned and badly organised: a narrow area with typical chaos endless lines etc. You need 2-3 hrs between flights to get on your next flight even in the daytime when the airport is not busy. The shopping areas are large airy and comparable to many international airports. Moreover we liked the local touches in the interior design very much. If you just have time to enjoy these features due to the badly organised transit and security arrangements.

Domestic departure airport is huge and one has to be prepared for a long trek. The shopping area is pleasant prices comparable to a mall. Check in took 10 minutes and likewise for security.

Arrival smooth and unhindered. Immigration a breeze with plenty of desks open. Luggage arrived within 5 mins of getting to collection area. Departure at T3 also easy. Security prior to the terminal and at the entrance was high but courteous. Check in and information highly visible. Security checks inside quick but not very impressive. The waiting areas are new so look good and there are a good selection of shops and eating places. The place was also very clean which for India is something of a plus.

I used T3 on four occasions over the past two weeks domestic and international arrivals and departures. Immigration for me has never taken more than 10 minutes. The domestic side I found to be very well supplied with places to eat/drink/shop (felt much more "complete" and bustling than the International side). There were a number of good food options in the food court and some good book/magazine buying options. In addition at the domestic exit they now have postpaid Radio Cabs - ie. you pay by the meter for radio cabs Rs 25 per km + Rs 80 airport charge. Not sure if they've switched to post paid at the international side too - but for the previous comment who was complaining about the range of fares to Defence Colony I wonder if s/he was comparing air-con radio cab prices (about twice yellow-and-black cab fare) to old non-a/c-yellow-and-black cab fares - since the former would be around Rs 600 for Def Col and the latter Rs 300. International departures smooth. Check-in/security quick long walk to the gate but place to relax once there. The two things which remain an annoyance are the insistence on printouts at entry and the penchant for stamping tags on every piece of hand luggage both of which I hope someday disappear.

This airport is a zoo and best avoided. It looks impressive from the outside but that is all. Arrival was not too painful - 1 hour queue in immigration then another 30min for luggage. The Forex counters have poor rates. Prepaid taxi counters appear to charge what they want - from 600ruppes down to 300 rupees for a car to Defence Colony and are pretty unhelpful - not the most hearty welcome for the first-time India visitor so it is worth to shop around despite what they will tell you. The return was a nightmare. At first security personnel (police) man every possible point in the airport. They are rude and speak almost no English. If you can show no ticket they will not let you into the terminal building. My husband did not have a printout of his e-ticket and was refused entry. Luckily I had printed mine out and was able to go in and on to teh Air France counter to stomp my feet ( and Air France personnel was helpful to be fair - but security and ground staff appear to be completely separate). More hassle at the security check (again mannned by police) - as a woman I was only allowed to pass a metal detector about half a mile from where i had left my hand luggage (and the boarding pass). Security stamp your boarding card for a reason unknown to me. More police by the gate again checking boarding passes and on the walkway onto the airplane. At that point I was happy to see the back of them. Airside shops are pretty poor - don't wait to buy last minute souvenirs there. Duty free choice below average with prices higher than average (compared to small city European airports). Food choices abysmal - only spotted a branch of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf the insipid Singaporean Coffee Shop Chain charging 150 rupees for a small cappuccino. Seating is hard plastic - at present you are better off lying on the hideously coloured carpet and staring at the cheap looking prefab ceiling.

Do not transit via Delhi. Regardless of amount of time you have during transit you will end up spending 90% of the time at the transit area. I had heard about the problems at the old airport but I was hoping that they would have implemented new transit policies for the new airport - wrong. During inbound and outbound flights I was able to get out of the transit area mere 45 mins before my flight. And if you have a long layover you are stuck in this place with one small food stall where food is bad. No where else I have ever had to spend pretty much locked up like in a jail cell during transit. Even though they have build a nice looking airport the ones transiting via Delhi will never get to explore the airport taste some Indian food purchase gifts and so forth.