Mumbai Airport

Arrival into Mumbai was fine went through to baggage claim fairly easy. However leaving is another matter. Very long lines at immigration took over 90 minutes from the beginning of the queue to the chap on the desk. Security after that is a nightmare taking forever to go through. After that there is not much in the way of duty free shops and the ones that are there are very expensive. There are a few bars which are not overly expensive but they give good service and are a happy retreat from the crowds. Overall not the worst airport in the world but very crowded to immigration so this needs to be factored into your flight departure.

Arrived to a packed airport entrance with several thousand Haj pilgrims added to the usual rush. Airport staff handled situation well and it felt biased but non Haj travellers were ushered through check in and security by attentive airline staff. Big complaint is the rip- off prices at kiosks. Got charged over £4 for a bar of chocolate and when asked for money back was refused refund.

It took me at least half an hour to get from the start of the terminal building to my entrance. This was due to the unorganised volume of people and traffic allowed to congregate outside. Armed guards only allow passengers inside the terminal building. Once you have made it through all the people to get inside you have to get your luggage scanned and security taped before check-in will take it. They tell most people this after queuing at the check-in desk (not useful). The international departure concourse for the most part looked like it is falling apart despite renovation (though the internal departure concourse in another terminal was newly designed and looked good). Immigration is painfully slow and immigration staff seem to think everyone is a suspect. Security is a joke as their methods are inconsistent. One guy will pat one passenger while the guy next to him doesn't bother with his passenger. Queues are the longest I've ever seen at security and this was at 11.00 at night. They changed the gate of my flight without any announcement only finding it by chance. Unfortunately it is the main port of entry to southern India so be aware of the differences compared to western airports and go with the flow as it is easy to get frustrated here with everything.