AIR TRAVEL, Mumbai

The Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport has two terminals:
the International one, formerly known as Sahar Airport, at about 30 km (20 miles) north of the town and
the Domestic terminal, formerly known as Santa Cruz Airport, at about 26 km (17 miles) from the heart of the city.

When you get out of the International terminal building, look at your right for the prepaid taxi counter, they offer the fairest prices to reach the centre.

While when you take a flight, don't forget to fill in the tag which must be fasten to your hand luggage: a stamp is put on this tag when your luggage get checked and it's absolutely necessary for passing the custom.

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Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM), formerly known as Sahar International Airport, is the primary international airport in Mumbai and is named after the Great Maratha Emperor, Chhatrapati Shivaji Bhosle.

The airport, with its 3 operating terminals, spreads over an operational area of 6 sq km, is India's and South Asia's largest and most important airline hub. It is the busiest airport in the country in terms of international passenger traffic and the second busiest in South Asia in terms of overall passenger traffic. The modernization of the Mumbai Airport started in 2006 by a group industries along with Mumbai International Airport Limited which reflected in additional check-in counters, refurbished toilets, improved signage, additional food and beverage outlets, and a smoother traffic flow. Although the Airport's expansion plans have been repeatedly hampered by slums encroaching onto the airport area but the construction in the surroundings is at full swing for further make over.

The International Airport is located at Marol, Andheri (East) which is 25 km north of main Mumbai City. Distance from other parts - the Western Suburb is within 15 km, Central suburb within 25 km and Navi Mumbai is within 35 km. The Airport is Connected to Western Express Highway by Andheri Kurla Road and a number of other service roads. There is no nearest train stations close to the international terminal but it's well connected via road with services from BEST Bus, Taxi and Auto Ricksaw. You can use more convenient transfer option by using Meru Cabs, Easy Cabs or prepaid Taxi. There is a parking lot near arrival bay but it's rate is too expensive and I won't recommend to park your car over there. Due to construction of Monorail & modernization the traffic at the approach of the airport is slow and please reserve additional time to accommodate that

The International Terminal is structurally divided as 2-A, 2-B, and 2-C. The original complex, 2-A, served most international carriers airlines whereas 2-C, exclusively for Air India, Air-India Express, and those carriers whose ground operations were handled by Air India. Mumbai has two intersecting runways runs between domestic and international terminal and can handle 25-30 departures per hour with simultaneous use of both runways

Before landing in Mumbai you will be given an immigration form . The form consists of 3 parts, Immigration, Departure and customs.
Fill in the immigration form and hand it in to passport control. The customs part of the form needs to be completed and given in just after you have gone through customs. Ensure the departure part is filled in before you reach the airport to leave to save time.

Arriving at Mumbai airport was with very little hassle.
Leaving was a major problem! I previously visited Mumbai during March, and it was not as chaotic as it was now when I left early January.
They are busy renovating the airport, which complicates things even more.
I do think you need to be at the airport at least 3 hours before your flight leaves. I'm sure if renovations are completed, things will be much easier.

The Domestic Terminals in Mumbai are a much more pleasant experience compared to International. Things run very smooth. I have used both Kingfisher and Jet, and had no problems.
Remember that you need to have your luggage security checked before going to the counters. Hand luggage should also be tagged and stamped.

This view of Mumbai's Airport from space taken by a satellite shows the place where I work at the Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport!!! The two runways crossing each other are very prominent and I work on the aircraft at the International Airport (Terminal - 2) which is the C-shaped structure you see above the runways. You may catch me working on one of the Air-India aircraft and sometimes even on the other airlines which we handle!! HAHAHA!!!

Picture courtesy: Australian Earth Data.

For travelling from the Train Stations in Mumbai to the Airport could be any of the five main line stations, so it all depends on which train you are arriving into Mumbai!!! They are Mumbai (Bombay) Central and Bandra Terminus for the Western Railway and Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Kurla Terminus for the Central Railway and Dadar for both the railways!!! If you are travelling with luggage then you will definitely be better off using a taxi from the city and it should cost you something in the range of about Rs.300 from CST or Bombay Central station and about Rs.150 from Dadar but if you are in the suburbs of Bandra or Kurla then you can take a autorickshaw which is a three wheeler semi open cab and cheaper than the taxi and it will cost you about Rs.55 from Bandra or Kurla Terminii. Anyway before travelling just flag down the meter in front of you and pay only according to the tariff card. There are different fares for the air conditioned cabs and they are about 25% more than the normal fares. Also the fares at night are 25% more from midnight to 0530 am. for both the cabs!!! The International Airport is different from the Domestic Airport but both are called by the same name!!! And some flights which are domestic also leave from the International terminal so check in advance where your flight is departing from!!!

If you are arriving into the Airport and leaving for another destination in India by train then the best way is to take a prepaid taxi from the airport where it is slightly more expensive but without any hassles of finding one or being cheated by the driver taking a longer route to fool you!!!

Daily flights to Mumbai are offered from almost every Indian city with an airport.

Domestc airlines serving Mumbai include:

Air India www.airindia.in
Indian Airlines www.indian-airlines.nic.in
Go Air (*) www.goair.in
Indigo(*) ww.goindigo.in
Jet Airways/Jet Lite(*) www.jetairways.com
Kingfisher/Kingfisher Red(*) www.flykingfisher.com
SpiceJet(*) www.spicejet.com

The budget airlines are denoted by a (*). All of them are very good. They sometimes offer excellent rates when booking far in advance, but you can easily book the same day and get a very good rate.

For a one-stop comparison of flights check www.cleartrip.com or www.makemytrip.com. I'd recommend booking directly with the airlines though in case you need to change your travel plans. I have had occasion to change my dates and have never had any hassles and never been charged any fees.