Dear friends,
let me clarify that - I am talking about the most unique sardar vallabhbhai international airpot, ahmedabad (not about ahmedabad domestic airport). they are two different buildings.
Befor I list my experiences, I must say that I agree with hetul when he says that it is very convenient for the passengers flying to USA and few other destinations as they can directly board from ahmedabad do not have to go to bombay. it saves time and energy.
however...this airport has many unique characteristics which are at times hilarious as well as frustrating. let me list them in order of my experience :
the boarding time of any international flight is usually 3 hours before departure. contrary to my advise in the review for singapore airlines, I reached there in time to find that the airport was locked. Yes....there was no one there !!!!! there was a big Godrej lock on the front door and we started wondering if we had come to the wrong place. suddeny a man came cycling from somewhere (he had gone for tea) and apologized. he said that he will bring the keys and open the airport in 5 minutes !!!!!! can you believe this...??? Yes.....welcome to the Ahmedabad International Airport. The only international airport in the world which you will find it locked (just like a grocery store)if you reach very early.
Another unique feature is the absence of inquiry counter. no one wants to take that headache. however you may get some information from the attendant at the parking place. in this age of information overflow, this is a unique feature.
there is no telephone counter (or even a coin operated machine) inside the airport after the security check. and most of the flights are delayed (b’cos AI and IA fly on this sector). hence if you want to make any call...you cannot. and they do not even allow you to go out and make a call for security reasons. they think that you may call and activate the remote bomb.
the security system is so tight that they do not allow you to go out of the airport after the check-in procedure. I have never seen such a stupid security arrangement anywhere in the world. it is a very ridiculous rule and I still fail to understand the logical reasons for the same. however recently I read that complete baggage of a person from the airport was stolen from inside the airport by people posing as custom officers.....where was the security at tha time ? I have also seen local people crossing the runway on cycle to avoid the longer route. officials do not consider that as a security threat.
as I said the flights are late more often than not. but the diligent staff members work according to their regular timings. even if the flight is delayed by 7-8 hours they do not allow the passengers to go out of the airport. it is because the immigration officers have to go home and have a good nights sleep. if you go out they will have to wait for you to come back and finish the immigration formalities before you fly. they do not want to do that and hence you stay at the airport which does not even have proper waiting lounge, coffee shop or clean toilets. they love you so much that they want you to stay there forever.
I think that the viewing gallery is cleaned once a year.
There is no suggestion box. even if there is one..the have hidden it well.
immigration staff is so dumb that they cannot even find the visa in your passport.
well that’s all for now. I hate to say this but it is the most pathetic international airport I have seen. I hope that someone in charge reads this review. if anyone else has something add then please write about it.