Domestic Flight Fiasco & Inefficiency in India

Like our previous train station situation, flying to Mangalore from the airport in New Delhi was also a wreck.  Traveling the equivalent from San Francisco to Pheonix---a 2.5 hour flight--- ended up taking us over 24 hours due to needless inefficiencies with the airport system. 

After finishing up our rounds in the golden triangle, we woke up at 3:30 AM, got our bags ready and hit the road from Jaipur back to the airport in New Delhi.   Jaipur has an international airport, but for some reason it was impossible for them to work out a way to get us from Jaipur to Manglore in fewer than three connecting flights, which would be very risky to take considering possibility for delays.  So we decided to drive 5 hours from Jaipur back to New Delhi to catch an afternoon flight there, hence the waking up at 3:30 AM.  Of course, our flight had a connection in Mumbai.  Luckily for us, traffic was lighter than our driver and tour guide had expected, so we ended up arriving at the airport in a mere 3 hours!

The fog was crazy ridiculous when we arrived in New Delhi!  You couldn’t even see 10 feet in front of you (Mad props to our driver for getting us to our destinations safely!). We thought the fog would cause delays, but the airport claimed that the weather wouldn’t be a problem, so we checked in our bags and continued to wait.  For some reason, the guy doing check-ins claimed that there were strict weight requirements even though our bags were light enough by international standards, and they charged us a HUGE fee.  And then made us run back and forth across the airport to make the payment instead of using his same kiosk. [[Later when we made it to the airport in Mumbai, we found out they were supposed to give us an extra weight allowance, but a refund wasn’t possible]] It was 10:30 AM when we arrived at the airport and our flight was scheduled to depart at 4pm. 

We continued to chill and wait.  Then at 2:45pm, we get a text from an American flight app telling us that our flight is delayed by 3 hours, thereby meaning we would miss our connection in Mumbai.  And of course, there is no warning whatsoever because the New Delhi airport is called “a silent airport,” pretty much meaning that people are too lazy to make announcements via intercom.  Not even the display monitor mentioned the delay.  So with hardly any advanced warning, we faced another huge change of plan, yet again (throwback to the train station).  No other connecting flight could be arranged in the same night, the airport wouldn’t provide lodging to compensate, and we couldn’t cancel our reservation at our final hotel in Manipal. 

Apparently, many other people were in similar situations, seeing as though there was a lot yelling at the airport.  Overhearing a couple other conversations, people claim to have been waiting for 5+ hours for their flights as well, only to face unexpected delays and cancelations. 

The flight to Mumbai was then delayed until midnight and our rescheduled connection to Manglore was at 8AM, meaning we had to bum it overnight in the airport.  We were supposed to spend 2 days in Manipal with family, but ended up dedicating over 24 hours just to travel.  

We ended up having WAY more problems at the airport than I've described thus far, but I’m not even going to bother continuing because let’s be honest, nobody cares.  The point is that all of our problems were due to or worsened by fact that the Indian system is crazy inefficient, whether it be top rated hotels, tourist attractions, train stations or domestic flights. 

Service in India in a nutshell: there will be 500 employees currently at their place of work, but five of them are actually working, and three of the five have no idea what’s going on.  On the positive side, I will admit that the airport in Mumbai was actually decent!

Driving 1,000 miles from New Delhi to Manipal would have been faster, yet again.  Luckily for our driver, he’s home free and gets to spend new years with his family.  My family decided that Ram’s driving is the most dependable form of transport in India, so if you ever need a wonderful driver during your stay in India, hit me up by commenting or contacting me and I can get you in contact with his agency.  Ask for Ram!

Honestly at that point, my family wanted to go straight home to the states.  India is crazy inefficient a lot of the time, and it’s pretty hard to handle.  Many of my friends and family members love India, but honestly, moments like this make it hard to see why.  I do hope spending time with my family makes a difference, in spite of the fact that our time in Manipal has been cut drastically short.  It’s just that so much of my family is in the states already, so perhaps that’s why I’m less charmed by India than other people.  Time will only tell, and I can’t wait to see my family!

Thanks for reading :)  Take it easy, y'all!