Crazy experience at Mumbai’s domestic airport.
2009 at 6:56 PM, Friday
Yesterday was a great day for me, like always. I had to pick up my parents from the airport. And this is when it all began.
Everything is going as planned and I reach the airport right on time. I get a call from my folks that they’ve landed and are waiting right outside the so-called ‘Arrival‘ gate. I parked there and was still on the call, but I wasn’t able to spot either of them anywhere close to the gate. I went around, thinking they must be somewhere behind and took another round of the entire airport and came back to the same place but a little off way… yet I couldn’t spot them. I was beginning to get irritated and parked the car in the parking lot and decided to go on foot. I waited at the ‘Arrival‘ gate for the next 20 minutes and yet couldn’t see them. Now I was starting to get really frustrated and I asked a worker nearby if there are any more of these ‘Arrival‘ gates? He said yes there is one for ‘Jet Airways’ and ‘Kingfisher Red’ on the other side next to the ‘Departure‘ gate. But then I told him there’s no way to get there by car. He says "Saahab, Departure ke raste se jao, aur Arrival pe pahucho." I was like WTF? Which dick-head did the planning for the Domestic Airport? How can you have two different ways for ‘Departure‘ and ‘Arrival‘ and then have one more ‘Arrival‘ zone which can only be accessed through the ‘Departure‘ zone? This is insane…
I made my way through the ‘Departure‘ route and midway came across a small sign which said "Arrivals". I was really pissed? These idiots can’t even place proper signboards? A person who goes to the Domestic Airport for the first time will end up spending the whole night trying to figure out where the ‘Arrival‘ and ‘Departure‘ gates are. This is really sad for a city like Mumbai. 
