Calcutta Airport (CCU) > Reviews > The Gateway to Eastern India

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Advantages:	Efficient (usually), Not very busy
Disadvantages:	Old Internation terminal, Safety concerns over road at night

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Calcutta Airport is split into 2 terminals, the domestic and international, and passenger numbers using it as a gateway into India are increasing every year although by international standards it is a small airport.

INTERNATIONAL - there are direct services to and from Calcutta by British Airways (London), Amsterdam (KLM), Amman (Royal Jordanian) and Dubai (Royal Brunei) as well as various destinations in SouthEast Asia. If coming from South East Asia it is often cheaper to enter India via Calcutta and the flight time is shorter. Many passengers using Royal Brunei to fly on to Australia also take a stop in India using this airport.

DOMESTIC - Calcutta is connected to all major Indian cities and to smaller Cities in Eastern India by Indian Airlines and Jet Airways.

FACILITIES - The International terminal is pretty basic. There aren't really any facilities to speak of on arrival oither than those essential to get you out of the building. The departures terminal has a Thomas Cook foreign exchange counter (often closed), Bank of India and airline offices. The duty-free shop is very poorly stocked. The waiting area is comfortable enough - though you probably won't be waiting very long there. There is a walk and bus to all aircraft. The domestic terminal is bigger and newer and has much more to offer including a cafe/restaurant, tourist offices and transport offices (Railway and Taxi). There is a hotel on the airport site (Ashok).

GETTING THERE - there is a brand new road to the Airport which will whisk you into the city within half an hour. It's best to take a taxi - and there is a pre-paid taxi booth inside the arrivals hall just before you leave (in the international terminal it's very poorly signed and is just a chap in a window with a book, but in the domestic hall it's a proper computerised office) Just tell them where you want to go, pay in advance and then show your ticket to the taxi driver outside and you won't have to argue over fares. It's widely accepted that the road to the city is unsafe at night and if I was arriving after midnight I'd prefer to stay the night in the airport and take a taxi after sunrise. This means the KLM flight isn't very convenient - as it gets in and leaves between 2 and 3 am..that said many people do travel at night.

FORMALITIES - there is an international tax of Rs 500 which should be collected in your airfare. There's also a "Passenger Service Charge" just introduced which is currently Rs 200 payable on departure. Like elsewhere in India there are plenty of forms to fill in and get stamped - it's all self-explanatory and most of the staff speak very good English if you do need help.

If you're using Calcutta Airport as a gateway into India, and particularly the Eastern region which tends to be off the tourist track, you'll find it surprisingly efficient but not especially exciting!