Apologies if this has been asked before (or if there is a similar thread going, in which case I would appreciate it if moderators could append this question to the end of that thread).

In December, I will be landing in Delhi from Germany in the morning (I believe ten am); later, in the afternoon (I believe after five pm), I have a domestic flight out. Both flights are on Air India.

With that in mind, can I leave the airport and get back in for my next flight with only my carryon baggage? I read in some other thread that security is very tight in the airport and if I go from the International arrivals area to the Domestic departures area, I won't be allowed to leave the airport.

I have transited Delhi two times in the recent past - once we didn't have much time so didn't need to leave the airport; the second time we had to hang around overnight. In the first instance, we came in on a domestic flight from Mumbai, so it does not really count. In the second instance, being jet lagged and all, I don't really remember what we did and where we hung out (except that there were a couple of elephant statues where we were waiting!). So I cannot even remember if we were airside or landside. But since we didn't have any plans of going out, it didn't matter.

This time, I am trying to see if I can meet up with friends. Plus it is the first time that I am visiting after the metro connection to the airport was made operational. With all that explanation, I still don't think it would be fun to go out if I have to take my check-in bag with me as well! I can manage the carryon but not the check-in also.