New Delhi Airport Terminal 3 – First Thoughts
Posted on 25. Aug, 2010 by David in Airport, Blog, Delhi, Travel
At the end of July the New Delhi airport opened up the brand new Terminal 3 for international flights. Here are my initial thoughts regarding the new terminal after flying out and back in on a recent trip.
- High ceilings: There’s a wonderful spaciousness about the new terminal and the much higher ceilings, especially in the check-in and baggage claim areas, greatly help this.
- Lots of carpet: The spacious departure and arrival piers have a curious flooring choice – carpet. Not just any carpet, but patterned wall to wall carpet that seems thicker than carpet I’ve seen in airports. A rolling bag didn’t roll as easily on it due to the extra friction from the thickness. I wonder how well the carpet will hold up over time with all the traffic walking on it.
- Long, wide walkways: Departure gates in the previous terminal were all mostly in the same small area. In Terminal 3 the gates are spread out across the super long walkways making up the departure pier. It can be a long walk from the food court in the departure hall to your gate.
- No post office: Unlike the old terminal, Terminal 3 has no post office in the main departure hall before you go through immigration and security. Perhaps there will be one if the future, but for now get your final post cards mailed off before you show up at the airport. (Update: according to the airport’s interactive map a post office is now listed in the T3 Departure Main Hall.)
- Less free wi-fi: Previously the international terminal offered 60 minutes of free wi-fi provided by Airtel. Terminal 3 now offers free wi-fi for up to 20 minutes through Aircel. After 20 minutes it’s available for a fee, but I couldn’t determine how much as the wi-fi wasn’t working the day I flew out.
- Different currency exchange: In the international baggage claim area of Terminal 3 there are two choices for exchanging foreign currency into Indian Rupees – Thomas Cook and Central Bank of India. The latter option is new and seems to replace the State Bank of India which was the recommended place in the previous terminal since it didn’t charge the commission which Thomas Cook did. I wasn’t able to confirm it, but I think the Central Bank of India doesn’t charge a commission either.
- Outside pickup: If you have a taxi waiting to pick you up on arrival, the driver will now be waiting just outside the arrival hall rather than inside the hall like before. That’s no fun for the driver if the weather is hot.
- Rough around the edges: Terminal 3 is a great upgrade over the previous terminal, but there’s still some work needed to complete everything. Not all of the restaurants and shops were open when I flew out, and I couldn’t find any ATMs in the international arrival hall even though they are on the map. I’m assuming all of this plus other little details will be complete by the time the Commonwealth Games come to New Delhi in early October.
Check out the official Delhi airport website for more information on Terminal 3.
Delhi Baggage Claim
Posted on 13. May, 2010 by David in Airport, Blog, Delhi, Travel
This was from the baggage claim area at the New Delhi domestic airport recently. Eventually I was able to get to my bag.
Top 6 Things To Do When Delayed At The Delhi Airport
Posted on 19. Jan, 2010 by David in Airport, Blog, Delhi, Tips, Travel
January can be a bad month for fog at the New Delhi airport, causing all kinds of flight delays. Last week my family and I ended up being in the international airport from midnight until 9am due to a 7 (!!) hour delay from heavy fog. Ahh, family fun, especially with a 15 month old!
So after that experience, here’s a quick list of the top 6 things you can do to kill time when delayed at the New Delhi international airport:
6. Take advantage of the free wifi to get online and email/blog/tweet/facebook your friends or family to tell them you’ll be late but not to worry because you have this top 6 list.
5. People watch and try to guess what countries all the various people in the airport are from without knowing what flight they’re waiting to get on. See if your guess is right if they approach you to ask why you’re staring at them.
4. Check out the departures screen and see if you can correctly identify the countries for each of the destination cities listed. If you’re a geography expert, then the additional options are guessing the time zone and longitude/latitude of the destination cities.
3. Count how many times an airline announces the “last and final” departure announcement for a flight to see which airline is the biggest offender of this loudspeaker abuse.
2. When an airline repeatedly pages someone’s name to come and board their flight that is departing, try to find that person or try to convince the airline staff to leave without them.
1. When the above options have been exhausted and you’re still waiting, go to Cafe Ritazza in the waiting area and buy yourself one of the jumbo super-sized Toblerone bars they sell. Chocolate makes everything seem better.
New Delhi Airport Post Office
Posted on 19. Jan, 2010 by David in Airport, Blog, Delhi, Tips
Recently I was flying out of the New Delhi international airport and saw something I hadn’t noticed before – a post office.
If you still need to mail some postcards or letters out to friends and family, or even if you have extra bags and want to ship them home this little post office can take of that for you. You can call the office on this number, 011 25652323, if you need any further information on their services at the airport.
The post office is somewhat obscure, so to find it head all the way to the left in the area where the various airline check-in counters are. It’s before you go through immigration. There’s a section of shops near the end on the left side, and the post office is at the back of this section.
Update August 2010: With the opening of the new Terminal 3 at the Delhi airport, there no longer appears to be a post office at the international terminal. Will keep you posted here if that changes.
Srinagar Airport Departure Info
Posted on 28. Sep, 2009 by David in Airport, Blog, Kashmir, Tips, Travel
Here’s the follow-up to the previous post about the Srinagar Airport, this time with departure info.
The first thing you’ll notice about departing from the Srinagar Airport is the high level of security checks to pass through. You’ll need a print out of your ticket/itinerary to show the security forces at the first gate. Before you get to the actual airport you’ll need to have all your bags (checked and carry-on) scanned at a screening post. From there you proceed to the airport where they’ll be scanned again right after you walk in the entrance.
One confusing thing about flying out of Srinagar for many tourists is the question of whether or not you can bring a carry-on bag with you. Most of the airlines have signs at their check-in counters indicating that no carry-on baggage is allowed for the flights from Srinagar. From what I understand this rule used to be strict in the 1990s, but at the present time is no longer enforced (especially for electronics, valuables, or delicate items).
What we tell our groups is that they can bring a carry-on bag, but they should take out any batteries (mainly from cameras) and put those in their checked bags. Your carry-on bag will be opened and inspected when you go through security to the boarding gate area, so if there’s anything you don’t want security officials sorting through then put that in your checked bag as well.
The airport is still undergoing some construction so changes will likely happen, but here are the facilities currently available inside the departure terminal.
- Restaurant – upstairs; has a small selection of some veg and non-veg items
- Snack shops – downstairs; mainly chips + cold drinks or instant chai; there is one inside the departure gate area after security but it mainly has drinks with less food snacks
- Bathrooms – both before and after the security check for the gate area
- Internet access – the back of the snack shop before the gate area has 3 computers that you can get online with for 80 Rupees/hour, no wifi at this point
- Kashmiri shawls and handicrafts shop
- J&K Agro shop with nuts, honey, and even canned wazwan from Kashmir
- Smoking room
- Child care and nursing mothers room
- Jewelry shop
- Medical room
- Foreign exchange counter, but the rates here are pretty bad
Just as with arrivals, all foreign tourists departing from the airport need to fill out an FRO (Foreign Registration Office) form with their passport/visa info along with details of their visit to Kashmir. The FRO counter is next to the jewelry shop and the foreign exchange counter.
The final thing to keep in mind when flying out of the Srinagar airport is that you need to identify your checked baggage before boarding the plane. After you go through the security check into the departure gate area, you’ll usually be asked by an airline official if you’ve identified your checked bag yet. Currently the place to do that is out an exit to the left following the security check (don’t worry, there are signs). You’ll go outside to where the baggage handlers for the various airlines have all the checked bags lined up. Just find your bags and have one of handlers for your airline mark the baggage claims tags on both your bags and your boarding pass. After that you can head back in to the departure gate and wait for your flight to start boarding.
Srinagar Airport Arrival Info
Posted on 23. Sep, 2009 by David in Airport, Blog, Kashmir, Tips, Travel
The Srinagar Airport has been undergoing lots of changes the last couple years due to construction of the new airport on the same site as the old one. Here’s the latest info on what you can expect on arrival at the airport. I’ll share info for the departure side of the airport in the next post.
When you fly into Srinagar, all foreign tourists will need to fill out an FRO (Foreign Registration Office) form before leaving the baggage claim area. Don’t worry about figuring out where to get the form, the FRO officials will usually spot the foreigners and come up to you with it. The form mainly asks for your passport/visa info, dates for your arrival into India and Kashmir, plus where you’ll be staying.
Currently all passengers coming into the airport also need to fill out a health form as part of the H1N1 flu screening.
Bathrooms are available in the baggage claim area as well as near the exit of the arrival hall before you leave the airport building.
There is a J&K Tourism office just behind the baggage claim carousels. They have various brochures on tourist places in Kashmir plus a nice map of Srinagar that you can buy for 10 Rupees.
After the baggage claim area there are counters for houseboat and hotel reservations, pre-paid taxi service, and a bus service from the airport to the Tourist Reception Center (TRC) near Dal Gate.
I’ve never used the houseboat reservations counter. From what I’ve heard if you book there you’ll pay high rates, so I don’t recommend it. Of course, my suggestion would be to book with us as we work with an excellent and trustworthy boat 
, but if you’re looking on your own it’s better to get in town and hire a shikara (water taxi) to take you around and look at different boats before making a reservation.
At the pre-paid taxi counter you can get a good rate for a taxi to take you into town. Currently a taxi from the airport to the Boulevard area by Dal Gate and all the way down to Nehru Park shouldn’t be more than 400 Rupees. You pay at this counter, they give you a receipt, and then when you go out of the airport you head down to the left to the taxi stand near the main parking lot. You can show your receipt to the drivers standing around there and one of them will then take you in his taxi. There’s nothing else to pay unless you want to tip the driver.
There was no one at the bus service counter when I was there recently, and I haven’t used it before. According to the J&K Tourism website this bus service to the TRC costs 250 Rupees, although I can’t guarantee how current that info is.
Near the pre-paid taxi counter is a ticket counter for the Gulmarg Gondola. If you’re planning to visit Gulmarg and take a ride up the gondola this could save you some time so you don’t have to wait in the ticket lines at Gulmarg.
When you walk out of the airport there will be a crowd of people outside. Most are taxi drivers waiting to pick people up or looking to find tourists that need rides. There also will be the J&K Tourist Police, and they’re watching out for any foreign visitors to collect their info before they leave the airport. They mainly want to know your name, what country you’re from, and where you’ll be staying. However, they don’t give you any of their contact info in case you needed to reach them for assistance. To get that, you can find phone numbers for the Tourist Police on the back the brochures from the J&K Tourism office back in baggage claim.
Hope this is helpful, and I’ll write about the departure side of the airport next.
Exchanging Money at the Delhi Airport
Posted on 03. Sep, 2009 by David in Airport, Blog, Delhi, Money, Tips, Travel
(Updated August 2010 to reflect changes after the opening of Delhi’s new international Terminal 3.)
I’m often asked before groups come about how soon they’ll be able to exchange money when they arrive in Delhi or if it’s possible to do it upon arrival at the Delhi international airport.
You can exchange foreign currency for Indian Rupees both before and after customs in the arrival hall of Terminal 3. In the baggage claim area before customs there is a Thomas Cook counter (toward the right) and a Central Bank of India counter (toward the left). I believe the latter does not charge a commission fee for the exchange. Both counters should be open 24 hours, which is helpful since most international flights get into Delhi late at night or after midnight. Outside of customs there are also two more counters, Thomas Cook and Central Bank of India again.
The new Terminal 3 also features ATMs both before and after customs. When I recently passed through the terminal these ATMs weren’t installed yet but they are listed on the map so should be there soon if they aren’t already. The ATM in the old terminal limited transactions to 5000 Rupees (just over $100 USD currently), but I’m not sure yet if a similar limit is one these new ATMs.
The airport website provides this interactive map showing the locations of foreign exchange counters and ATMs.
Changing money at the airport can be helpful in case you need some Rupees before you’re able to go to an ATM or other bank exchange office near whatever place you’re staying at in Delhi. I’ve heard & read that the exchange rates in the airport aren’t always as good as what you get at a bank office in town. However, I haven’t always found this to be true.
