Access to DEL without Board Pass?
 

((searched but don't see a thread for general questions on DEL airport so posting this))

Curious how others handle this situation - was departing DEL earlier this week, and was turned away from entering the airport as I didn't have my boarding pass yet. I was flying Air Canada, and as on my outbound flight leaving SFO, I could not complete online check-in but was directed to go to the airport to present my passport. However the security guard at the entrance to DEL refused to let me enter even when I had the AC reservation page on my phone, showing a reservation with my name, as well as my passport. He sent me to another gate, which turned out to be the employee entrance (Gate 8), where I went through the same back and forth, he refused to let me enter, blah blah blah. At that point I negotiated and wasn't going to leave so I think he made a risk-based decision to just let me in rather than continuing to negotiate.

Is there a special entrance at DEL for passengers who do not already have their boarding pass? In my experience in most situations you are not able to complete a check-in for an international flight until you present your passport at the airport counter and they can verify your identity. What did I do wrong/what should I do the next time? Is it different for different airlines?

I last flew out of DEL about four years ago, and flew LH on my return that time. I don't remember the same issue so maybe the guards at the door are a new process?

That's strange - it's the usual process at Indian airports to allow people in on the strength of a reservation confirmation if a boarding pass is not available. I hope this is not the start of some new, stricter process because I find that half the time I am unable to check in online for flights departing India (seen this with Delta, BA, Air France, KLM from BOM and BLR). It's unpredictable, and sometimes I can check in, but often not.

this is very strange....i've never experienced this in del & i take close to a dozen flights out of del every month....i always show my ticket on my phone....

the only time they won't let you in the airport is if you show up extremely early....typically they will let you in 3 hours before a domestic flight & 4 hours before an international flight....if you show up earlier than that then they won't let you in....

Just to clarify, I didn't have my ticket on my phone as I wasn't able to check in for the flight in advance but was notified to go to the counter. I did have the reservation information but hadn't printed it out since I didn't expect I would need it. Tried showing them the reservation and they waved it away.

Thanks Bandicoot and Keyser for your responses. I'll just chalk it up that I had not just one, but two different cranky security guards who wanted to hassle a traveler at 3:30 in the morning...

there seems to be some confusion here....what do you mean by 'reservation information that you hadn't printed out'????what exactly did you show them????

by showing them my ticket on the phone i mean showing them the reservation information that clearly mentions the name & travel details....this could be a ticket or an email or even a screenshot of the reservation page....

the guards are instructed to not allow anyone inside unless the passenger can prove that they are traveling....anything that shows your flight info will suffice....the 4 things they look for are your name, the travel date, travel sector & flight timing....as long as they can see these 4 things they will allow you in....