Jan 6, 2022, 1:47 am
Last edit by: TheBagman
Terminal 3 at DEL handles all international flights as well as domestic flights of Air India, Vistara and Air Asia India.You can transit D-I, I-D, I-I and D-D.
I-I transfer desks are open as of August 2022.
Below are the details for transit within T3.
A. Domestic to international transit at T3:
If both your domestic and international flights are on a single ticket, your baggage will be checked through at the origin airport itself and you should get your onward boarding passes there as well.
At DEL there are 5 ways to get from arrivals to departures (one level up), listed here in order of least walking to most walking.
1. Domestic - intl transfer gate: After you deplane from your domestic flight (or get off the bus) and go down the escalator (or stay on the same level coming from a bus) there is a special facility for transit passengers in the hall with the copper hands on the wall (red gate in the image below). It leads directly to immigration counters and security check after which you can access departure gates, lounges etc. Service on this entry point are hit or miss, but will save you a lot of walking. There are AI and AF-KL agents roaming the queues and will fast track you if running late. However, this only works if you already have your boarding pass for your International flight, have checked your luggage through from your point of origin, and have less than 4 hours between your domestic and international flights. If you are on separate tickets, have more than 4 hours for your international flight, or the lines are too long try one of the other options below.
2. Transfer desk in the middle of the arrivals concourse: always crowded. Here you could theoretically drop your bags and take the lift up to the security or checkin desks. Its a night mare, never used it due to crowding.
3. The escalator & lift on the international end: collect your bags, turn LEFT when you exit the first set of doors after the baggage belt. At the complete end of the concourse a lonely CISF jawan polices that way up. S/he will check if you have a international onward ticket/BP or send you packing to the other ways. Once you go up you get into a glass walled holding pen with yet another CISF checkpoint that will only let you ínto the checkin area if your flight is in 4h or less.
4. Escalator & lift on the domestic end: collect your bags, turn right when you exit the first set of doors after the baggage belt. At the complete end of the concourse a lonely CISF jawan polices that way up. S/he will check if you have a domestic onward ticket/BP or send you packing to the other ways. Once you go up everything is cordoned off and you are shown out the terminal by the CISF guy sitting at the glass door to the checkin area you end up curbside and have to enter the terminal again.
5. Just walking out as if you want to go to Delhi: here you exit the terminal and pretend to be a regular pax arriving in Delhi. Once you exit there are walk escalators where you push your cart on and get transported to the departure level. Select one of the many gates where there are no major lines and enter the checkin area.
B. International to domestic transit at T3:
For Air India I-D flights where your domestic flight is from AI 010-399 or 900-999, you will follow the procedure for I-I transfers (see this for details). Otherwise follow the procedure given below.
For all other flights, you will go through immigration in Delhi. After immigration you have to collect your bags and go through customs. Then follow steps 3, 4 or 5 in the section above.
Security will generally not allow entry into the domestic terminal until T-4 (four hours before the departure of your flight).
Transit hotel: For overnight transit (int'l flight arriving at night and domestic connection departing following morning), the transit hotel within Terminal 3 (IHG Holiday Inn Express) is perfectly acceptable. And the views of the tarmac when having the included breakfast aren't bad. You need to have a domestic flight departing from T3 in order to use it. The T-4 restriction does not apply to use the transit hotel. But it goes for quite a premium in rates over what the other hotels in the area cost (if willing to exit the terminal building for overnight stays). To reach, turn right after Customs and look for the Holiday Inn Express help desk inside the terminal. Staff will escort you to the hotel and help with other formalities.
For other terminals:
T2 is a (long) walk from T3. Exit the terminal, turn left and follow the signs.
T1 is ~8km by road and takes about 15 minutes by taxi. There is also a shuttle bus outside the terminal which is free if you are a woman or have a boarding pass for an onward flight, and costs INR 25 otherwise. There are no airside connections.
C. International to International transfer
After landing look for the board saying "International Transfers" (DO NOT go through immigration).
1. If you are on a single ticket and already have boarding pass in hand with "DT" (Direct Transfer) printed on it, walk past the transfer desks and go through transit security. Then you can proceed to the departure lounges and gates. Note: if your boarding pass does not have "DT" printed on it, you need to talk to the transfer desk, otherwise the I-I security checkpoint will likely not let you through and send you back to the transfer desk.
2. If you have separate tickets or don't have your onward boarding pass in hand, you have to go to the transfer desk where the airline staff will check documents and issue your onward boarding pass. You cannot check-in online or get an e-Boarding Passes for international flights out of India. Check-in generally opens 4 hours before and closes 60-75 minutes before departure. Then go through transit security as in point 1.
3. There are no priority security lanes in transit security so it is advisable to keep adequate time (>2 hrs) between connecting flights even if you are in F or J.
4. If you have separate tickets, in addition it is advisable to hold an Indian visa or e-visa as you may be denied boarding at origin otherwise.
5. A transit hotel for overnight stays (up to 24 hours) is available after transit security.
I-I transfer desks are open as of August 2022.
Below are the details for transit within T3.
A. Domestic to international transit at T3:
If both your domestic and international flights are on a single ticket, your baggage will be checked through at the origin airport itself and you should get your onward boarding passes there as well.
At DEL there are 5 ways to get from arrivals to departures (one level up), listed here in order of least walking to most walking.
1. Domestic - intl transfer gate: After you deplane from your domestic flight (or get off the bus) and go down the escalator (or stay on the same level coming from a bus) there is a special facility for transit passengers in the hall with the copper hands on the wall (red gate in the image below). It leads directly to immigration counters and security check after which you can access departure gates, lounges etc. Service on this entry point are hit or miss, but will save you a lot of walking. There are AI and AF-KL agents roaming the queues and will fast track you if running late. However, this only works if you already have your boarding pass for your International flight, have checked your luggage through from your point of origin, and have less than 4 hours between your domestic and international flights. If you are on separate tickets, have more than 4 hours for your international flight, or the lines are too long try one of the other options below.
2. Transfer desk in the middle of the arrivals concourse: always crowded. Here you could theoretically drop your bags and take the lift up to the security or checkin desks. Its a night mare, never used it due to crowding.
3. The escalator & lift on the international end: collect your bags, turn LEFT when you exit the first set of doors after the baggage belt. At the complete end of the concourse a lonely CISF jawan polices that way up. S/he will check if you have a international onward ticket/BP or send you packing to the other ways. Once you go up you get into a glass walled holding pen with yet another CISF checkpoint that will only let you ínto the checkin area if your flight is in 4h or less.
4. Escalator & lift on the domestic end: collect your bags, turn right when you exit the first set of doors after the baggage belt. At the complete end of the concourse a lonely CISF jawan polices that way up. S/he will check if you have a domestic onward ticket/BP or send you packing to the other ways. Once you go up everything is cordoned off and you are shown out the terminal by the CISF guy sitting at the glass door to the checkin area you end up curbside and have to enter the terminal again.
5. Just walking out as if you want to go to Delhi: here you exit the terminal and pretend to be a regular pax arriving in Delhi. Once you exit there are walk escalators where you push your cart on and get transported to the departure level. Select one of the many gates where there are no major lines and enter the checkin area.
B. International to domestic transit at T3:
For Air India I-D flights where your domestic flight is from AI 010-399 or 900-999, you will follow the procedure for I-I transfers (see this for details). Otherwise follow the procedure given below.
For all other flights, you will go through immigration in Delhi. After immigration you have to collect your bags and go through customs. Then follow steps 3, 4 or 5 in the section above.
Security will generally not allow entry into the domestic terminal until T-4 (four hours before the departure of your flight).
Transit hotel: For overnight transit (int'l flight arriving at night and domestic connection departing following morning), the transit hotel within Terminal 3 (IHG Holiday Inn Express) is perfectly acceptable. And the views of the tarmac when having the included breakfast aren't bad. You need to have a domestic flight departing from T3 in order to use it. The T-4 restriction does not apply to use the transit hotel. But it goes for quite a premium in rates over what the other hotels in the area cost (if willing to exit the terminal building for overnight stays). To reach, turn right after Customs and look for the Holiday Inn Express help desk inside the terminal. Staff will escort you to the hotel and help with other formalities.
For other terminals:
T2 is a (long) walk from T3. Exit the terminal, turn left and follow the signs.
T1 is ~8km by road and takes about 15 minutes by taxi. There is also a shuttle bus outside the terminal which is free if you are a woman or have a boarding pass for an onward flight, and costs INR 25 otherwise. There are no airside connections.
C. International to International transfer
After landing look for the board saying "International Transfers" (DO NOT go through immigration).
1. If you are on a single ticket and already have boarding pass in hand with "DT" (Direct Transfer) printed on it, walk past the transfer desks and go through transit security. Then you can proceed to the departure lounges and gates. Note: if your boarding pass does not have "DT" printed on it, you need to talk to the transfer desk, otherwise the I-I security checkpoint will likely not let you through and send you back to the transfer desk.
2. If you have separate tickets or don't have your onward boarding pass in hand, you have to go to the transfer desk where the airline staff will check documents and issue your onward boarding pass. You cannot check-in online or get an e-Boarding Passes for international flights out of India. Check-in generally opens 4 hours before and closes 60-75 minutes before departure. Then go through transit security as in point 1.
3. There are no priority security lanes in transit security so it is advisable to keep adequate time (>2 hrs) between connecting flights even if you are in F or J.
4. If you have separate tickets, in addition it is advisable to hold an Indian visa or e-visa as you may be denied boarding at origin otherwise.
5. A transit hotel for overnight stays (up to 24 hours) is available after transit security.
Delhi IGI [DEL] connection/departure experience reports
Jan 2, 2011, 4:39 am
#31
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 200
I have taken the HYD-DEL flight connecting to AA ORD, although on separate tickets just last month. Jet would not check through baggage since this was not a mainline Jet flight (Lite I think, or Konnect)
Even if they would check through I would not be at all comfortable with a 2 hour connection time in Delhi especially in winter when fog delays seem pretty common.
Although connecting in the new terminal is an improvement over the old one, it is still far from being stress free. I have a similar route next week and made sure to leave 4 hours
Even if they would check through I would not be at all comfortable with a 2 hour connection time in Delhi especially in winter when fog delays seem pretty common.
Although connecting in the new terminal is an improvement over the old one, it is still far from being stress free. I have a similar route next week and made sure to leave 4 hours
Jan 5, 2011, 10:51 am
#32
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Programs: AA Lifetime PLT, AA EXP
Posts: 136
I have a Hyd - Ord ticket issued by AA.
Hyd to Del is with Jet and Del to Ord is with AA.Will luggage be checked in Hyd all the way through to Ord?or will i have to recheck the luggage in delhi?
Also, I just have 2hrs connecting time in Delhi.Would it be sufficient time to connect in T3 terminal?I saw a poster here that said it took him a good 2.5hrs to connect!!
Any suggestions to make it smooth?
TIA.
Hyd to Del is with Jet and Del to Ord is with AA.Will luggage be checked in Hyd all the way through to Ord?or will i have to recheck the luggage in delhi?
Also, I just have 2hrs connecting time in Delhi.Would it be sufficient time to connect in T3 terminal?I saw a poster here that said it took him a good 2.5hrs to connect!!
Any suggestions to make it smooth?
TIA.
Jan 8, 2011, 9:28 am
#33
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: PHL
Programs: HH Diamond MR PLAT US Gold
Posts: 288
I am planning to reach DEL by AF or KLM to go to AMD .
How difficult/easy to pass immigration and get into T3 domestic ( Jet / Kingfisher ) ??
Thanks
Rbnaidu
Jan 9, 2011, 6:15 am
#34
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: Delta PM
Posts: 74
In my experience, while transferring at DEL, I had to go to the departures section anyway (since there were no transit desks anywhere) to drop my bags. It was not all that bad, and quite smooth. (I would have preferred the transit desks to drop my bags directly but things are not always be as per your preference ;-) )
Jan 12, 2011, 4:34 am
#36
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Italy
Programs: ITA Executive for life; AZ CFP "per sempre" (ST E+); LH SEN; BA Bronze
Posts: 1,948
Jan 12, 2011, 1:06 pm
#38
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: PDX
Programs: Don't think it matters...
Posts: 5,240
Jan 13, 2011, 12:39 am
#39
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: Delta PM
Posts: 74
So, since I rarely (read never) head to delhi, is it as painful to land in delhi as it is in mumbai (in the sense of the endless circling around)?
Jan 13, 2011, 2:08 am
#40
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: PDX
Programs: Don't think it matters...
Posts: 5,240
a bit under 2 hours. fortunately the fog does not seem to be too bad in Delhi, so I should make it (as long as things so smoothly).
So, since I rarely (read never) head to delhi, is it as painful to land in delhi as it is in mumbai (in the sense of the endless circling around)?
So, since I rarely (read never) head to delhi, is it as painful to land in delhi as it is in mumbai (in the sense of the endless circling around)?
Jan 22, 2011, 9:02 am
#41
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: Delta PM
Posts: 74
Delhi DOM-INT transfers
So I just did BOM-DEL-MXP on jet. Some observations,
1. The transfer is *very* slow.
2. The 9w folks at the transfers desk on the domestic side did not seem to have any clue as to where the customs registration office was.
3. Immigration is slow. There were just two counters open (around 11am) taking about 5 mins for each person. Took about half an hour for me to get up with just 5-6 persons standing ahead of me.
4. There is a passport check just before security by 9w, but no signage. I came to know about it only because I was searching for the customs office. Of course, they as well did not have any clue as to where it was. The folks at immigration told me it was after security.
5. Security at transit area is pathetic. For the number of passengers, the equipment is certainly not sufficient. I wonder how it is when you are departing from Delhi directly. There were just 2 x-ray machines, being operated very slowly. Took about an hour or so to get through security.
6. It is quite surprising how the information desk inside the secure area was not aware of where the customs office was. After some inquiries we realized it was before security.
7. What I found amazing was the absolute lack of 9w staff. While trying to resolve the customs issue, the information desk folks tried calling them up to escort me and get it done. There was no one around for at least 10 mins. Finally fed up I asked her to send them to the lounge. Again, on trying to call them from the lounge led to no answer. There was no one around! Finally when we did get someone, it was too late to get anything done as I had to board.
I was wondering if the security/immigration situation is the same, or I just hit a bad time? I am in two minds of transiting through Delhi now, considering both experiences have not really been all that great.
1. The transfer is *very* slow.
2. The 9w folks at the transfers desk on the domestic side did not seem to have any clue as to where the customs registration office was.
3. Immigration is slow. There were just two counters open (around 11am) taking about 5 mins for each person. Took about half an hour for me to get up with just 5-6 persons standing ahead of me.
4. There is a passport check just before security by 9w, but no signage. I came to know about it only because I was searching for the customs office. Of course, they as well did not have any clue as to where it was. The folks at immigration told me it was after security.
5. Security at transit area is pathetic. For the number of passengers, the equipment is certainly not sufficient. I wonder how it is when you are departing from Delhi directly. There were just 2 x-ray machines, being operated very slowly. Took about an hour or so to get through security.
6. It is quite surprising how the information desk inside the secure area was not aware of where the customs office was. After some inquiries we realized it was before security.
7. What I found amazing was the absolute lack of 9w staff. While trying to resolve the customs issue, the information desk folks tried calling them up to escort me and get it done. There was no one around for at least 10 mins. Finally fed up I asked her to send them to the lounge. Again, on trying to call them from the lounge led to no answer. There was no one around! Finally when we did get someone, it was too late to get anything done as I had to board.
I was wondering if the security/immigration situation is the same, or I just hit a bad time? I am in two minds of transiting through Delhi now, considering both experiences have not really been all that great.
Feb 13, 2011, 4:01 am
#44
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: DUB
Programs: AA EXP IC AMBASSADOR/DIAMOND Tk/ELITE (*G), JumeirahONE Gold
Posts: 487
International Transit Delhi
I am flying to Colombo soon and I was planning to buy a ticket to Delhi with BA or Air India and connect there with Sri Lankan Airlines on a different ticket/reservation number.
As I don t want to go through Immigration in Delhi (I have only one entry more left in my double entry Indian VISA which I am planning on using in May), I was wondering if there is a transit desk or something similar for all airlines.
I know Jet and Air India has one when you transfer from International to International where they will give you your boarding pass and check your documents before going through security and into the departure gates but not sure what is the story for smaller non-Indian carriers like Sri Lankan.
I am looking at the option of checking in online. However I wanted to know if it is possible (if I cannot check in online - Sri Lankan Airlines said it was not a problem) to get a boarding pass in the transit area. I know this type of facility is provided in Delhi for connecting passangers continuing in 9W or AI. I doubt it is the same for Sri Lankan or other non-Indian carriers but it is worth asking just in case
I will also take my carry-on so no need to check bags
Thanks
As I don t want to go through Immigration in Delhi (I have only one entry more left in my double entry Indian VISA which I am planning on using in May), I was wondering if there is a transit desk or something similar for all airlines.
I know Jet and Air India has one when you transfer from International to International where they will give you your boarding pass and check your documents before going through security and into the departure gates but not sure what is the story for smaller non-Indian carriers like Sri Lankan.
I am looking at the option of checking in online. However I wanted to know if it is possible (if I cannot check in online - Sri Lankan Airlines said it was not a problem) to get a boarding pass in the transit area. I know this type of facility is provided in Delhi for connecting passangers continuing in 9W or AI. I doubt it is the same for Sri Lankan or other non-Indian carriers but it is worth asking just in case
I will also take my carry-on so no need to check bags
Thanks
Last edited by palermo; Feb 14, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Feb 14, 2011, 3:07 am
#45
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,682
while i have not been to the transit area myself, i have heard that transit without clearing immigration is possible for all airlines flying out of delhi....