<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Athena53:
OK, here's the latest report.
Left DEL on a 3:25 AM flight to LHR. I had the battery to my laptop as well as a camera with a battery- no spares. No problem at all. Of course, the place is a pit and they wand everyone and there is NOTHING beyond Security but a few snack shops with soft drinks only. I had to get there 3 hours in advance. Could have done it with 2 hours but all it would have taken would be one more Immigration officer on break or one more family group ahead of me with complex issues and I woudl have missed my flight.
Great visit but getting out was no fun!</font>
What I cannot stand about Indian airports -- besides their desperately-in-need-of-sprucing-up status -- is the lack of consistency in the amount of time required when departing. You can be through from start to finish in an hour or it can take you 4 hours. And there is no easy way of knowing in advance. All it takes is one rescheduled flight or a few emigration officers causing a slowdown (legitimately or illegitamately) and you have a by-the-skin-of-your-teeth arrival to the departure gate, where you have to deal with another madhouse.
I wait for the day when they have their act together more often.