Delhi Airport

Recently transferred at New Delhi airport on flights to and from Kathmandu. Had plenty of time for transfer which is needed due to long corridors taking up to 15 minutes to get to the central area. All transfer passenger must go through security which was quite efficient and to the central area before going back down the corridors to the gate area. It is important to make sure checked bags are recorded so the get on the next flight. The main terminal area looked very impressive at first site however a closer look reveals poor workmanship like cracked tiles torn carpets etc. Ongoing construction is unfortunately destroying much of the floor space. Terminal catering quite good and we thought reasonably priced (but maybe high for India).

Used the new T3 international terminal during a recent trip. You no longer have to deal with the masses outside the entrance doors much more space to move around the check-in area and the security check has been moved to immediately after immigration meaning you no longer have to worry about missing your flight due to security if you go to the lounge. The main terminal area is much nicer than the old one though as another poster has noted the shops are overpriced lounges are nicer as are gate waiting areas. Queue control also seems to be better though I was leaving on a Saturday night when traffic seemed pretty light. Alas there are still some teething problems. My main complaint was the shuttle service from the domestic terminal (1D) to the international terminal. The bus itself is fine but you're dropped off at the very bottom level where there are no luggage carts to be found. This forces you to lug your heavy bags up a seemingly endless series of travelators to the 3rd level - no easy feat when you're tired. There is still insufficient place to sit if you arrive too early to check in for your flight. And although Wi-Fi is free you must have a working mobile phone to obtain a password by SMS - a big problem if you're a visitor without an international-enabled phone. They don't even offer a pay option anymore. And finally I don't care for the gate setup - similar to Bangkok or Singapore where you have a second (useless) security check then a waiting area to sit until your flight is ready to board but the waiting area itself doesn't open until about an hour before boarding. If you're too early there's really no place to sit in the main terminal unless you have lounge access or patronize one of the overpriced restaurants.

Terminal 3 departure area to fairly quiet. Immigration was very smooth at least a dozen counters open for tourists and I was through in about 10 minutes. The rest of the terminal was in excellent condition and at least half the shops were completed and open for business. Easy to get around from the gates and overall a huge upgrade over the old terminal.

I used the new terminal a week or so after the opening. The landside / check-in area is large with room to move but if you are early for check-in then plan to sit on your suitcase. Anywhere remotely looking like seating was filled to capacity with locals sleeping. Once check-in opened then the lines quickly formed although in fairness I have been in slower lines. Landside shops? forget it! Lines of people waiting at passport control has transferred from the old terminal to the new one same people of course! It takes these guys ages to do anything. At one point the line next to mine (and they had been waiting a long time) were told to go to another line because the officer was due his tea break! Security checks are far too slow but faster than the old terminal maybe they are nervous but I think needing to remove a shaver electric lead from hand baggage and sending it through the scanner again is a bit too much! Airside immediate impression is 'wow India have entered the airport excellence challenge' after a while you remember where you are and can easily see where you are. Shops are there but overpriced (cheaper to buy your last minute present in Delhi) no available seats near anything like a coffee shop and the area around the main one was dirty. Further in towards departure gates the areas are very large pleasant and fully carpeted. I wonder if that was good idea since it looked dirty already and with kids spilling their coke (seen many times in the 2 hour airside wait) it wont last long! To give this airport any glowing report now would distract from what it will be like - if I said the waiting areas at the gates and the open areas at landside are the best things at the airport then its a good guide.

Just spent 7 hours waiting in transit lounge at Delhi Airport whilst travelling London to Delhi with Air India and Delhi to KL with Air Asia in circumstances where my wife and I could have and should have spent no longer than 5 minutes in the area. The rule operating in practice is that you cannot transit until the airline which delivered you to Delhi signs you over and you are accepted by the airline taking you out again. This is so even where you are appropriately ticketed and have an internet boarding pass for the ongoing flight. So if there is no one available at your ongoing airline or no one processes your request from the arriving airline you simply sit and wait and are effectively left in limbo. The only way to get through is to constantly harass the staff to keep checking on where matters are for your particular case. You are invariably told each time you approach the desk by the person on the counter that they do not work for the particular airline that you are flying out on and the matter is not their responsibility. Air India appears to be the only company represented in the transit area. Many people are forced to spend long periods (in some cases more than 24 hours) confined in the transit room with no shops or other facilities. This is completely unnecessary where passengers hold ongoing ticketing. No one appears to be in charge or available to deal with passenger transit. You are just locked in a room and left to fend for yourself. I saw many very frustrated and distressed people unable to have their individual transit situations appropriately dealt with. The many individual staff members at the transit desk whilst personally pleasant were incompetent to handle the situation. The whole shambolic situation is a debacle. I was told by another passenger that on one occasion the security staff would not even allow travellers out of the room to go to the toilet for a period in excess of 3 hours.

The new terminal 3 at Delhi Airport is well laid out clean and seems to be up to international standards. Signage is very clear. Immigration and emigration process times are fast. Luggage delivered pretty fast. Toilets clean. Shopping is satisfactory though merchandise variety especially quality Indian products within a reasonable price range could be better. The retail space available in the international section is definitely not some 20K m2 as advertised by DIAL. Not even close. Landside is not yet fully ready.

International terminal 3 is finally a goer. It is an improvement on the previous effort T2 (that would not be difficult). It is new - Indian new (meaning not entirely finished). Where it is finished on close inspection it actually isn't. Departure is an improvement (but not much) as is Arrival (still have the really self important immigration officers but that is true everywhere). Everything is quicker slightly quicker which is better than it was. Luggage still takes a long time to arrive which is mysterious. Departure lounge is amazingly expensive - $6 for a small beer kind of expensive. They have a sports bar which as of now is not actually licensed but they do have a smoking room as a nod to Asian tolerance. Do not look too closely at the fine workmanship as that will only disappoint and whatever you do do not chuckle as chuckling tends to offend too. In all a very Indian effort but still better than the previous effort that was T2. The domestic terminal is actually an efficient (and dare I say it) pleasant experience and quite a surprise. Naturally that will be closing and relocating to terminal T2 in the very near future.

Used the new T3 for an international departure shortly after it opened in July end. While the outlook of the terminal is greatly improved I still had to wait in a long queue outside to get in. They have at least 8 entrances to the terminal but only 2 were open to passengers after checking of tickets and passport. Why not open a few more to ease the flow of passengers getting in!! Once inside another long queue at the check-in counter of Jet Airways who seemed to be checking in all domestic and international passengers at same counters. Security check didn't take very long and I was just in time at the gate to board my flight. The washroom near the gate had no lights. Apparently was still in a state of construction. However being a new terminal it was clean. Advice: Give yourself enough time before departure to have a less stressful departure experience.

I used this airport four times in the past quarter of a year. The international terminal is dirty badly managed simply unsuitable to bear the amount of passengers. Adversely the domestic terminal is modern full of light clean and well organized.

Delhi's new Terminal 3 has finally opened. Lots of aerobridges travelators well laid out baggage hall clean toilets - a truly superior experience compared to the old terminal. I wish they could improve the calibre of people at Immigration and it isn't fully ready (lounges and outlets are still being put into place) but it is an international quality terminal. I noticed that there is now a proper transit area for connecting passengers.