India - Does the baggage claim process at DEL really take that long?

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for my question, so please move it or let me know where I should instead post it.

I'm traveling to India tomorrow and am debating whether to bring one extra bag with my suit / hanging clothes or to try to jam everything into my carry-on. I heard from one person that the baggage retrieval process at Delhi can sometimes take hours. This was corroborated in a review of DEL I found after some googling.

Is this true, or just an old problem or an outlier?

I don't know about hours but it is longer than what you might suspect. I believe the primary reason is that each bag is x-rayed for contraband before it is put on the belt. If they see anything questionable they mark the bag with chalk and put it on the belt. Then, as you walk out past customs, they look for any bag with a chalk mark.

A colleague of mine in New Delhi tells me he looks at his bag when it's on the belt and if it has a chalk mark he brings it into the men's room and wipes it off before going past customs. ;)

I would not bring that extra bag to delhi if you can avoid it. It is a nightmare.

Please follow as the thread moves to the Travel->India forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

I heard from one person that the baggage retrieval process at Delhi can sometimes take hours. This was corroborated in a review of DEL I found after some googling.

"Hours" sounds a bit dramatic and conjures up images of huddled masses sleeping on the floors waiting for baggage. :rolleyes:

I've never had baggage take longer than 2-3 hours at Delhi. Most people get their bags within the first hour or so.

Thanks for all the responses! I ended up going with a single carry-on and just rolling my jacket and pants using some technique I found on Youtube. I had to forgo some extra clothes / shirts, but a few extra woolite packets and a clothesline should give me some freedom. :)

I would not bring that extra bag to delhi if you can avoid it. It is a nightmare.

care to elaborate????

i am on a few international flights every month & almost always fly back into delhi....in my 5+ years of regular flying i have never encountered a problem with collecting baggage in del....

So far the 3-4 times I passed thru DEL in the old & new terminal arriving from Germany on LH the luggage has already been on the belt by the time I get there, max 5-10 min for one additional piece, usually because of its odd size.

yeah - especially flying international, by the time you clear immigration your bags are likely to be already there on the belt