GVK managed international mumbai airport sucks. That is all I can say. My frustration is because, if you can spend money, you get frills like smoking inside airport premise.
Major nicer better airports worldover are non-smoking. But they have specified smoking cubicles. even chennai airport has smoking rooms in visitors are and again at the gate. There is smoking room in both domestic and international gates in Chennai, for example.
In GVK controlled bombay international airport, no smoking is allowed. Very fair. I respect that if that is the rule for everyone. Interestingt, there is a restaurant called Celebration Bar & Restaurant in Gate 1 where you can smoke. They have a smoking room inside restaurant area. You can smoke there, after a long flight, if you can order something from their menu before you can go into the smoking room. If you refuse to order, they say "it is a private smoking place, sir"; there are 10s of people inside smoking after ordering atleast a water bottle for atleast 170Rs. This is India, alas, I realise.
WHY? Why allow smoking inside airport at all? Either ban it outright, FOR ALL. Or allow it by having ventilatted secluded smoking rooms. Why allow a restaurant to collect money this way and let them smoke? Is it not known to the management or Airport Authority? Or is it done clandestinely?
Very partial and I left frustrated from that place, of course, without smoking. Why do we have this in India still, in a regulated area like airport? Is this how GMR Delhi airport also works? If yes, it is just because the private sector is trying to make by such low-level deeds. Do someone take note of this?