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I will be flying out of Mumbai airport at 13.00 on a Friday on British Airways. I'm looking to understand how long beforehand I should arrive - I'm unfamiliar with Mumbai airport procedures.

In case it's relevant:

  • I'm OneWorld Sapphire, which means I should be able to check-in in Business/use any relevant fast-track lanes.

  • I'm on a UK passport.

  • I'll probably be checking a bag.

Generic "2h"/"3h beforehand" statements on the BA/Mumbai airport website aren't what I'm looking for - from experience, how long does this typically take/what's a reasonable worst case?

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  • For business class it shouldn't be more than an hour atleast. Should take you no more than 30 minutes to do all the formalities. But the immigration might take some time. If loads of flights around that time then it might be long else you will sail through in 10-15 minutes.
    – DumbCoder
    May 27, 2015 at 11:50
  • @DumbCoder I assume you mean the exit immigration, right? They do that in India?
    – Andrew Ferrier
    May 27, 2015 at 11:53
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    Also you will need to ask for a lounge invitation at the check in desk, your boarding pass is not sufficient.
    – Calchas
    May 27, 2015 at 12:04
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    @Calchas, thanks. I dislike it intensely when airlines do that (especially since it's too late once you are through security, and if you aren't checking bags you have to Q up anyway), so it's helpful to know in advance.
    – Andrew Ferrier
    May 27, 2015 at 12:05
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    I don't think BA premium services can help you get through exit immigration or security quicker (they can't at Bangalore, but they do stop people cutting in front of you which helps a little!), so I think those are the things that'll take you the most time. Based on my experiences in Indian airports, potentially quite a lot of time...
    – Gagravarr
    May 27, 2015 at 12:34

2 Answers 2

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With the speed of India, it could be longer than 2-3 hours. Also, I'm not sure if this is still true, but BOM airport always seems to be under construction, so the shortest route through the airport could be closed. Since you're Sapphire, the business class check-in lanes aren't that long usually. I would strongly recommend checking in online to reduce check-in time, even if you have bags. I don't think BOM has a bag drop area, so you will need an agent to tag your bags. I read (I went to India 8 years ago so I don't remember) that everyone gets a pat-down, so the lines will be considerably long at security. I think there are also priority lanes in security, so you may experience a shorter wait time. I would recommend 4 hours just to be safe.

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  • I am some what the same situation...I have the early morning International flight on early Sunday morning at 2:10 am. Coming via the connecting flight from another City(Bhopal) in India. This connecting flight(Air India) has always been efficient reaches the same terminal(Terminal 2) where my international flight(Jet Airways) will be departing...should I take chances? I will be having roughly 2 hours and 45 minutes in between two flights...my family members(who will be coming after 3 weeks) to help me with the luggage etc... Or should i go some what even early?
    – Ashu
    Mar 12, 2018 at 3:00
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Having done this, I can confirm I needed no more than about an hour to get through security and exit immigration - although I was travelling through the "business" lane for both (not in Business, but I have OneWorld Sapphire). Mumbai seemed very efficient. If I were doing the journey again, I would arrive 2 hours before, just in case.

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