Mumbai international to domestic transfer question

[BacktoCricaddict]

5 hours ago, khadekhademaaro said:

 

Delhi International flights are from T3. I hope your domestic flight also lands at T3 and will transfer your luggage directly to your international flight. I mostly go via Air India, domestic and international, so the luggage transfer at Delhi is smooth. I am sure other airlines also do but once Jet Airways screwed it up with United airlines.

 

If your domestic is at T1 or T2, you may have to pick luggage and transfer to T3 via bus. The buses aren't that comfortable or good unless they have improved in the last year. Even at T3 if your airline does not transfer luggage, you will have to take it and check it again at your international airline terminal, this is easy though as the terminal is same.

 

At T3, if there is less gap between your domestic and international, there is a separate line close to domestic arrivals for immigration. If gap is more then 3 or 4 hours,  you will have to come outside and then enter again at departures. Then luggage check in if not transferred via airline, then immigration, then security and then duty free and then you can head to the gate !

 

All the best for a safe journey.

 

 

Luckily I am on AI from BLR to Delhi and Delhi to Wash DC.  So I should be able to check my bags through from BLR and then just do aish at Delhi airport.

 

Thank you all.  I am a very reluctant and anxious flyer, so all of this information is very helpful.  

[Khota]

3 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

If you are flying out of India, they check bags till your destination or n Bengaluru. All you have to do is get out of your flight, do immigration and hop on to your destination flight

Where is customs done then?

[khadekhademaaro]

14 minutes ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

Luckily I am on AI from BLR to Delhi and Delhi to Wash DC.  So I should be able to check my bags through from BLR and then just do aish at Delhi airport.

 

Thank you all.  I am a very reluctant and anxious flyer, so all of this information is very helpful.  

yes. should be smooth this time too then. except at your flight time at night, lines in immigration can be painfully long. so aish after immigration and security. And keep praying AI to DC flight is on time :P

[khadekhademaaro]

11 minutes ago, Khota said:

Where is customs done then?

at arrival. no customs done in Delhi while departing.

[khadekhademaaro]

4 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

If you are flying out of India, they check bags till your destination or n Bengaluru. All you have to do is get out of your flight, do immigration and hop on to your destination flight

If the airlines is same or of the same alliance. Otherwise they may not do a direct luggage transfer.

Also I am not sure if there can be direct luggage transfer if domestic flight to Delhi is at T2 or T1.  International is only from T3

[diga]

17 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

Take a metro to Malleswaram. Veena stores, Raghavendra stores. Asha sweets in one street food hopping. They have dug up Gandhi bazaar and VV Puram way teewr. Don’t even venture there

 

If you are trying all the above in Malleswaram, then do try Amrith ice cream too this summer... (especially the Manoranjini flavor) 

[BacktoCricaddict]

On 5/1/2023 at 11:09 PM, khadekhademaaro said:

yes. should be smooth this time too then. except at your flight time at night, lines in immigration can be painfully long. so aish after immigration and security. And keep praying AI to DC flight is on time :P

Back in the US! 

 

So, IGI-DEL is a nice airport.  My bags got checked in from BLR to Wash DC, so didn't have to deal with that in DEL.  But had to to do immigration (never understood why we do immigration on the way out, but whatever) in DEL.  Here's where some better signs/directions would've helped.  There were signs to "Domestic to International Transfer" but when I went there, they told me to go out of the arrival area, turn left, go all the way to the end of corridor and make my way to international departures for immigration and security check. No signage. Had to ask the CSIR guy to be sure. 

 

The immigration and security was easy enough.  In a few min, I was at the gate. 

 

But here's where the crap hit the fan and it is not the airport's fault.  Rather AI's ineptitude and general laissez-faire attitude was appalling.  We are all sitting at the gate waiting for boarding.  Around 30 min before boarding, a few security guys and AI staff show up and start yelling for us to get out of the boarding area so they could do another security check.  Again, I don't understand why (the airport already did it) ... but whatever.  Where it got really messy was they made no exceptions for older folks on wheelchairs etc.  Everyone had to go back and stand in line and, as usual, younger people hustled, cut in line, and older people had to stand longer to be security checked again. 

 

Then when boarding began, same crap.  No clear instructions.  Guard shows up, opens the door and everyone rushes to the line.  People with kids, wheelchair passengers are left to compete with younger people in a hurry.  I even got yelled at by a che****a dude because I let 2 wheelchairs ahead of me in the line.  It is so simple for AI to create boarding zones, do pre-boarding of disabled and stroller-passengers, and then board by zone.  But no ... it was a Darwinian free-for-all.  

 

The 14 h flight itself wasn't bad - on-time, reached 30 min early, and overall good in-flight experience even in economy. 

 

Just fix the pre-boarding chaos, AI.  Please.

 

 

[khadekhademaaro]

@BacktoCricaddict In my experience, IGI is the best airport in India for international travel and lives up to international travel experience.

 

The "Domestic to International Transfer" is only for immediate transfer flights. Otherwise you have to go out of the airport and come back in through departures, a level above. The end of the corridor escalator is an alternate arrangement.  This should change and everybody should be allowed through the "Domestic to International Transfer" section.

 

The check before entering the flight is random with AI. United and BA used to do it regularly at Delhi. I tried to ask at times, and the response was, it is a procedure, won't take much time. This has to change. Do it like at Changi airport, the security check is only done at the gates just before boarding.

 

Another thing which used to annoy is spray of some disinfectant gas  before take off. Don't think that happens these days.

 

Surprised to hear about the chaos at boarding, but have seen that while boarding and de-boarding, passengers in India are in a hurry. Not sure why

 

 

 

 

[BacktoCricaddict]

7 hours ago, khadekhademaaro said:

@BacktoCricaddict In my experience, IGI is the best airport in India for international travel and lives up to international travel experience.

 

The "Domestic to International Transfer" is only for immediate transfer flights. Otherwise you have to go out of the airport and come back in through departures, a level above. The end of the corridor escalator is an alternate arrangement.  This should change and everybody should be allowed through the "Domestic to International Transfer" section.

 

The check before entering the flight is random with AI. United and BA used to do it regularly at Delhi. I tried to ask at times, and the response was, it is a procedure, won't take much time. This has to change. Do it like at Changi airport, the security check is only done at the gates just before boarding.

 

Another thing which used to annoy is spray of some disinfectant gas  before take off. Don't think that happens these days.

 

Surprised to hear about the chaos at boarding, but have seen that while boarding and de-boarding, passengers in India are in a hurry. Not sure why

 

 

 

 

(1) They don't do the spraying anymore.  Thank goodness.

(2) While I don't totally see why they do the checks, I don't mind that they do them. But it is the shoddy implementation that must be fixed. They can keep the gate area locked and open it 2 hrs before boarding and ready for the x-ray checks. As people show up, you check them and make them sit. 

(3) Most airlines have figured out how to seamlessly and routinely pre-board disabled passengers and those with little ones, then board by zones. It's not that hard. Yes, sometimes an unruly passenger will need to be told off, but AI didn't even try to implement anything orderly.

(4) I think passengers are in a hurry to board because they are afraid they won't have enough room in the overhead bins. No other reason makes sense.  The only reason anyone should be in a hurry while de-boarding is if you have a tight connection. Even then, in an international arrival situation, there is no point.  Your luggage might take 1 hr to show up so you are stuck anyway.  

 

Another nice thing that happened was - my original ticket had a 13hr (!!) layover in Wash DC.  United happily changed it to just a 4h layover and I was home much sooner than I first thought!

 

In short, it wasn't a terrible experience overall, but still flying sucks. Give me my minivan anytime.

 

Edited May 21, 2023 by BacktoCricaddict

[coffee_rules]

56 minutes ago, BacktoCricaddict said:

(1) They don't do the spraying anymore.  Thank goodness.

(2) While I don't totally see why they do the checks, I don't mind that they do them. But it is the shoddy implementation that must be fixed. They can keep the gate area locked and open it 2 hrs before boarding and ready for the x-ray checks. As people show up, you check them and make them sit. 

(3) Most airlines have figured out how to seamlessly and routinely pre-board disabled passengers and those with little ones, then board by zones. It's not that hard. Yes, sometimes an unruly passenger will need to be told off, but AI didn't even try to implement anything orderly.

(4) I think passengers are in a hurry to board because they are afraid they won't have enough room in the overhead bins. No other reason makes sense.  The only reason anyone should be in a hurry while de-boarding is if you have a tight connection. Even then, in an international arrival situation, there is no point.  Your luggage might take 1 hr to show up so you are stuck anyway.  

 

Another nice thing that happened was - my original ticket had a 13hr (!!) layover in Wash DC.  United happily changed it to just a 4h layover and I was home much sooner than I first thought!

 

In short, it wasn't a terrible experience overall, but still flying sucks. Give me my minivan anytime.

 

My flights usually go through Mumbai and usually they announce zones for boarding - seniors and parents with young kids who can board first , last seats first, etc. Even in AI. This double x-ray checks makes sense as we go through internal transfers within the airport, someone can pass a package secretly inside the airport.

 

Never understood immigration check while going out, maybe to create extra government jobs. Just like mandatory gas attendants in MJ

 

I don’t understand why Indians can’t allow people in first seat deboard ahead of them. If they entered in that order, going out should be in reverse. Never seen this behavior in non-Indian flights. Pehle aap nahin chalta, bas gaane mein

[khadekhademaaro]

15 hours ago, coffee_rules said:

My flights usually go through Mumbai and usually they announce zones for boarding - seniors and parents with young kids who can board first , last seats first, etc. Even in AI. This double x-ray checks makes sense as we go through internal transfers within the airport, someone can pass a package secretly inside the airport.

 

Never understood immigration check while going out, maybe to create extra government jobs. Just like mandatory gas attendants in MJ

 

I don’t understand why Indians can’t allow people in first seat deboard ahead of them. If they entered in that order, going out should be in reverse. Never seen this behavior in non-Indian flights. Pehle aap nahin chalta, bas gaane mein

habitual bhi ho sakta hai. jaldi jaldi chadho. train chalne ka time ho gaya hai .