Updated 4/27/09

Despite some very useful FT threads on the topic (below), there seem to be very few photos on the web to help newbies navigate DEL for the first time. Having just returned from my first trip, I thought I would post some detailed info here. Most is general, although some is specific to AA. Sorry I didn’t quite get as many pictures as I would have liked, but if anyone has other pics or info to share, please let me know and I’ll incorporate into this post.

Delhi / DEL Airport Experiences, Aug 2008-present
Useful info for AA passengers to Delhi and beyond (consolidated)
Lounge situation in Delhi, India (DEL)?


ARRIVING IN DEL

Arrival
I arrived on AA292 ORD-DEL in J at about 9:15 pm. In the International Terminal, the gates are separated from the central departure waiting area by a glass wall, and we walked around that corridor counterclockwise to Immigration.

Immigration
There was only one person ahead of me in line, and my visa was in order, so this took only 2 minutes.

Baggage Claim and Customs
This is just down a short hallway to the left after Immigration. As a good FTer, I had only my carryons, so I walked directly to the exit on the right of the Baggage Claim hall and handed the stub from the bottom my Landing Card to the Customs agent. All of the above took 13 minutes from arrival at the gate.


Money Exchange*†
Immediately after exiting Customs, there is a Thomas Cook counter on the right, where you can purchase rupees (INR / Rs). You’ll need to have your passport and sign a form. There was no line when I arrived, so this only took me 5 min. The smallest bills you’ll be able to get are Rs 100 notes, so think about getting some smaller change (below).

* Another FTer reports below that various Indian banks have counters in the Baggage Claim area as well as after Customs, and that these counters do not charge the 3% commission that Thomas Cook charges.
† There is reportedly one ATM outside the secure area, although service may be spotty: [FT thread] [IndiaMike thread]

Pick-up Area
Just after the Thomas Cook is the exit from the secure area, lined on both sides by dozens and dozens of drivers and hotel reps with signs for those being picked up. It can take some time to find the right sign with your name on it!

This is a reverse angle view of the exit from the secure area, with the drivers lining the near railing:


If you continue straight ahead, you’ll also see the signs for the Prepaid Taxi Counter on the left (orange):


As you exit the secure area, there are also some food and drink stands to the right (opposite the taxi counter). You can yourself a bottle of water to get some change for that Rs 100 note. Use your own judgement on whether or not you eat or drink anything else there!

From here, we proceeded with our driver to the curb, where he got our car from the lot (5 min) and took us to our hotel, the Jaypee Vasant Continental (20 min). As an aside, upon arriving at the hotel, the undercarriage of the car was checked by armed guards with a mirror, after which our luggage was x-rayed and we proceeded through WTMDs. I’d expect similar security at other luxury hotels in the city.


DEPARTING DEL

Drop-off Area
We returned to the airport in a large bus, which was sheparded through the enormous crowd outside the terminal by two traffic marshalls. You will need your passport and a copy of your itinerary to enter the airport! Again, FT prepared me for this one, but many others were left pulling out their laptops to show their itineraries.


Your itinerary will first be checked by the agents in the violet jackets, who can direct you to the appropriate gate for your airline (when we were there, it was Gate 2: AA; Gate 3: AI; Gate 4: CO). Others have reported elsewhere that you may not be admitted to the airport until your flight shows on the board as “Security Check”, but we arrived exactly 4 hours before our flight, so we were ok.* Your passport and itinerary will then be scrutinized by an armed CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) officer (short line; 5 min).

*Savage25 reports below that early arriving passengers can wait in the food court across from the terminal building, where there is free wifi.

Check-in
Just inside the airport, you’ll proceed to your airline check-in area. The counters area is designed to be flexible, with movable podiums and LCD screens above each position indicating the airline and travel class.

This is a view to the left just inside the front door (Gate 2). The royal blue wall of the Thomas Cook counter can be seen just beyond the “C” sign:


This is a view straight ahead just inside the front door (Gate 2). The blue lane dividers of the AA check-in area can be seen on the far right, just beyond the sign with the orange arrow:


We had no one ahead of us for the Priority AAccess line, and were immediately greeted by an AA agent who looked us up by name and handed us printed itinerary cards. Agents will also look for oversize carryons here, and AA’s ‘old’ metal tube sizers were still in use.

At the first row of podiums, you’ll be asked a series of security questions by rather serious looking AA security agents. It’s basically the usual ‘Did you pack your own bag?’, ‘Have your bags been in your possession since you packed them?’, and ‘Has anyone asked you to carry anything with you?’, but the delivery is much more serious and careful, coupled with some vignettes about ‘I’m asking you because this has happened in the past and explosives have been brought onboard’. Assuming you pass, you’ll get a sticker on your passport and a warning that you will be subject to additional screening. IIRC, this is also where you get a very important stamp on your boarding pass, which you’ll need a few more times. (They instead stamped the receipt of one person in our party by mistake, leading to a few minor hassles later on.)

You can then proceed to the main counter to the (less stern, smiling) AA agents who will check you in, as well as any bags you may have. You will receive a departure card to complete before clearing Passport Control. F/J passengers will receive invitation cards to the ‘premium’ lounge (as many have reported, that term is used loosely here). All passengers coming through the PA line will also get red Priority AAcess tags for their carryons – this allows access to the proper security lines. Strangely, the agent will inform you that economy boarding begins at 11:30 pm, while premium boarding begins at 12:00 am. More on this later! They suggest allowing 20 minutes to clear security from the lounge.

Money Exchange
Afterwards, I went to the Thomas Cook counter to exchange most of my remaining rupees (there are no exchange counters beyond passport control; to avoid this, consider exchanging before leaving your hotel). The counter was a mob scene and, after observing for a bit, I took after everyone else and pushed my way to the front to get the specific form I needed to change Rs to USD. It’ll take you a couple minutes to fill out the form, at which point you can start pushing your way back to the front. (A rather stereotypical American couple next to me complained vociferously when someone cut them in the ‘line’, getting only half bemused, half angry stares in return. I inquired how long they’d been in India, expecting that they’d perhaps just arrived – nope, two and a half weeks… ). You’ll need to hand over your passport again, which will be photocopied, after which you’ll receive your cash and a receipt. This process took me 25 min and was actually the most painful part of my DEL airport experience (which was pretty good overall thanks to FT).

Passport Control
Straight ahead under the big black board in the photo above is the entrance to Passport Control. You’ll proceed around to the left side of the counters, where there are a number of lines, the first of which is designated for F/J pax, although all were about equal, with only 2 people in line (5 min). The officer will check your passport, visa, and take your departure card.

Lounge Area
After Passport Control is a narrow area just before Security. Again, thanks to FT, I knew not to clear Security until just before boarding. Just around the corner to the right are stairs that lead up to the premium lounges. Also to the far right on ground level, beyond a glass wall, is a small waiting area that looked to be pretty comfortable and quiet. The bathrooms are also located here and are reportedly the relatively cleaner ones in the airport, although there was a lot of water on the floor of the stall, and TP was BYO (there are paper towels by the sink ).

Port Lounge
There are two premium lounges at the top of the stairs. The Port Lounge was for (at least) AA, SQ, while the Clipper Lounge was for AF, KL, LH, LX, TG.* We had three people in our group who had upgraded and there are no guests allowed. Fortunately, someone else in our group was smart enough to realize that we were, after all, in India, and asked the man at the door how much it would cost to get our two other colleagues in. He asked for $20pp; she got him down to $10pp. YMMV


The much maligned lounge was as cramped as reported by others elsewhere. About 80% of the lounge is shown in the photo below, with a couple computers out of view to the right and a small buffet behind the viewer with snacks. Entry comes with one free drink at the bar (far end), and Airtel wifi access is reportedly free, as long as you have a cell phone that can receive an incoming text message with the access code. (I didn’t have enough time to try it, fretting over the wisdom of ordering a lime in my G&T.)


*Savage25 reports below that the Clipper Lounge is accessible using a Priority Pass, with photos here.

Security
We left the lounge at 11:30 pm, and headed down to security. There is an F/J line in the middle (about 15 people), with AA economy to the left (about 30 people). At the head of the line, a CISF officer will check your passport and boarding pass, then direct you to the x-ray machine and WTMD. At the x-ray machine, there are blue crates for all electronics – laptops, cameras, cell phones, PDAs. Other than that, it’s shoes on, baggie in. There are separate WTMDs for men and women, followed by a patdown/wanding by another CISF officer. You can then collect your x-rayed bags, each of which will be stamped on one of the paper tags (e.g., PA) by a CISF officer. This entire process took us about 20 min – I’d leave a bit more time for economy.

Departure Waiting Area
Just beyond the security area (below left) is a large duty free shop (below right). The gates wrap around behind the shop in a horseshoe arrangement. Note that, other than Duty Free (and presumably your baggie), you cannot take any liquids onboard, so finish your drinks/water in the waiting area.


The waiting area is pretty crowded, but we were able to find some seats closer to the windows. The glass wall that divides the waiting area from the gates proper can be seen at the back.


Boarding (AA)
Here’s where the process differs from anything I’ve seen before. We arrived at the gate a bit before midnight and were confused to find Groups 1-5 boarding. However, when we approached the gate agent, we were told that Business Class was not boarding yet. Turned out this was because of the additional security screening by AA security personnel on the jetway. They basically process all of the economy passengers first, and hold them in a pen at the end of the jetway. Then they bring the F/J passengers through for screening, and you proceed past the head of the line onboard. (As you can imagine, there was a woman at the head of the line yelling at a poor gate agent that they were being ‘punished’ for going through early. “No ma’am, I’m not punishing you.”)

When it’s your turn to board, your passport, boarding pass (stamped), and bag tags (stamped) will be checked by AA personnel, then by another CISF officer. You’ll then proceed beyond the glass wall and line up in the hallway. Upon reaching the jetway, AA security personnel will hand search your carryon bags and confiscate any liquids. Wrapped packages may be subject to wanding and opening if necessary. The security agent will tear your paper (PA) bag tag in half at this point. Next, you take your shoes off and stand on a strangely angled box (maybe it’s a sobriety test, too), for another patdown and wanding.

Finally, whether you ‘cut’ to the head of the line or wait in the pen, it’ll be your time to board your flight back home!

Hope this is helpful!