Mar 25, 2007 10:52 AM
5976 Views
There are a couple of things that need to be bought up here.
1) there are two domestic terminals - terminal 1a and terminal 1b
1a serves indian airlines, kingfished and go air while terminal 1b serves all the other airlines. Terminal
2)1b has recently got a make over and is now completely changed so only look at recent reviews.
3)Its not Bombay Aiport its MUMBAI Airport.
Terminal 1b
Iv travelled a lot by terminal 1b though iv also been by 1a a couple of times. Ill start of with reviewing 1b. Terminal 1b is the best airport iv been to in India. The airport is quite well planned and is world class. The entrance of the airport has airline offices on either side and a ramp running through the middle of it going to the main entrace where the luggage screening machines are kept diagnolly. there is a line of check in counters and there seem to be enough of them. this entire are is under a huge see through roof which covers both the ceiling andone of the walls and thus the airport has a very open, airey and bright appearance to it.
After that you go to the security area and there is a lot of space before this to sit down and even a couple of lcd screens which screen the news. after the security check in there is more place to sit. a seperate area with another huge screen and a surround system installed with multiple speakers all over that area. there are also a couple of shops around this area. Tata Indicon operates a WIFI network here and you have to purchase WIFI time from the Tata Indicom counter before security.
There are also a couple of public phones. Beyond this are the various departure gates which are in a seperate area. Another thign I really liekd about this airport is the flooring which looked like Italian Marble or somthing like that and is unlike any other airport in India which has the disgusting grey floorign everywhere. This airport is a big step forward for Indian Airports and is not only designed well but also scores high on aesthetics and passenger convenience.
The only negative thing about this airport is that it gets a bit crowded and so you might be surrounded by people but what else can you expect from Mumbai! Also there is no aerobridge and a bus takes you to the aircraft.The arrival terminal wasnt ready when I was travveling and passengers were taken to terminal 1a.
Terminal!a is a bit older than terminal 1b and is lot bigger too. Its not as aethitcally pleasing though and I wasnt that impressed by it. However it is a lot less chaotic too. iv only been here around 7-8 times so cant really comment in detail. I do however remember a bookshop and a small cafe inside.
