Must Know Aspects before Boarding Flights to India

An idea of a perfect leisurely break to India brings smile on the face of most Britons. Be it an escape from chilly winters, or a desire to explore India’s rich culture and heritage, or any other reason to book flights to India, travellers from UK never run out of excuses to plan vacations to this exotic country. Holiday makers often gather information on what to pack, where to go and how to procure cheap holiday deals. However, one must acquaint oneself to a host of other factors related to their flights to India to ensure a smooth travel experience. These include visa information, terminal information, departure and arrival, reporting time to airports, stopover information, minimum connecting time and baggage info. Visas Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s website states ‘You must obtain a visa before travelling to India; without one you will be refused entry’. Travellers to India can visit FCO’s website for detailed information or contact VFS Global. Airport Information – London Hosting a number of full-service and low cost airlines, London Heathrow Airport (LHR) remains one of the most sought after airports to catch one of those cheap flights to India. One of the busiest airports in the UK, LHR has five state-of-the-art terminals. Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 building is one of the largest free-standing edifices in the UK and is used entirely by British Airways, one of the popular airlines offering flights to India. With 5 terminals and the stunning enormity of LHR, it becomes important for passengers to find out which terminal they would be departing from. One can contact the airline or travel agent to find out about the departure terminal to avoid any last minute problems. Reporting Time Awareness of the reporting time at the airport is must to avoid confronting closed gates at checkin counters or being denied boarding. Reporting time at the airport widely varies with the class of travel booked. The reporting time at LHR airport for the business and first class travellers remain 2 hours prior to the scheduled departure time, while that for economy class it is 3 hours before the scheduled departure time. However, this information must be confirmed from the travel agent or the airline booked. Stopovers Booking flights with one or more stopover can reduce the cost of flights. Although, a connecting flight means longer travel time, passengers can carefully choose stopovers to make their tickets for cheap flights to India worth more than their price. Dubai is one of the most popular enroute stopovers that travellers who want to save money on cheap flights to India can choose. Dubai Airport’s Terminal 3, with sophisticated facilities and amazing duty-free shopping scene, has become of the one of the most compelling stopovers even for the time-pressed passengers. A couple of hours here is certainly going to make your stopover rewarding. Minimum Connecting Time (MCT) Passengers opting for connecting flights should always check the connecting time between two flights. The connection time provided and displayed on the tickets must be in line with the standard MCT set by the authorities (usually airports). Complaints about missed connections due to insufficient connection times booked are commonplace in air travel industry. Connections times less than the minimum connection time are believed to be hot or illegal connection and in those cases, the airlines are not obligated to help the passengers. MCT varies from ‘international flight connecting to International flight’ and ‘International flight connecting to domestic flight’. Airport Information – India The award winning international airports at Delhi and Mumbai remain the most preferred gateways for those planning Indian holidays. Those taking flights to Delhi are greeted at visually delightful terminal 3. Artistically designed terminal 3 offers wonderful passenger facilities like sophisticated lounges, extravagant shopping and dinning! The airport boasts every possible facility and was recently ranked second in the world in terms of Airport Service Quality. A host of airport taxis, buses and airport metro rail network offers easy escapade to prominent city points. Passengers catching flights to Mumbai land at the terminal 2 only to be pleasantly stunned with its mesmerizing facilities like mouth-watering dinning, animating shopping and multiplicity of ATM’s and money exchange counters. With absolutely no dearth of airport taxis, the airport caters for easy transit to different city points! Baggage Allowance Tourists’ spending money on holiday deals to India must be have correct information as to the baggage weight allowance that they can carry aboard the airlines. Usually, the baggage restriction for those taking non-stop flights to India is 46KG and for those hopping on indirect flights is between 23 to 30 Kg. However, passengers must check with the airline or travel agent as it is subject to change.