Tag Archives: Delhi

Why Delhi is the worst place to miss your flight and pretty much the worst airport

Anyone who has missed a flight knows that sinking sweaty-palm frantic feeling. But missing a flight at the airport in Delhi takes that fear to a whole new level.

By Heather Newgen

Even the most seasoned traveler can miss a flight. It recently happened to me in Delhi, India and it caused so much unexpected chaos that the American Embassy got involved.

After a month of traveling I was ready to go home. It was my second time in India and I was hoping for a better experience. In 2009, I went to Delhi to volunteer with an organization called Volunteering Solutions, which turned out to be an unethical and shady program.  It was so terrible several volunteers left, including myself.

RELATED: Beware of Volunteering Solutions–Awful Experience

I couldn’t afford to change my return flight, so I stayed in India. I was alone and encountered multiple issues like relentless sexual harassment from the owner of the hotel where I was staying. It was no longer safe for me there, so a volunteer I met was living in Delhi for the summer with her family and they came to my rescue.

I crashed with them for the rest of my time in India and we became great friends. In fact, she was the reason I returned to India. She  invited me to her wedding and although my first experience in India wasn’t so amazing, I didn’t hesitate to visit again.

I was so elated for my friend and wanted to be there for her, plus who doesn’t want to attend a traditional Indian wedding?

So I went with a renewed excitement and open mind. The trip started off really well. I arrived a week before the wedding, spent a lot of time with my friend and enjoyed seeing Delhi again.

The wedding was beyond anything I could imagine. For two days I ate incredible food, danced all night, made wonderful new friends and wore the most beautiful Indian dresses. It was an unforgettable weekend and I’ll always be happy I went, but it came at a price.

After traveling to Nepal and other cities in India it was finally time to head home. I had dealt with severe food poisoning, lost luggage, sexism and a slew of other issues after the wedding, so I couldn’t wait to go home. My flight was scheduled to depart at 3:20AM on December 7th, 2019 on British Airways. I should have arrived the night before, but I was confused by the time and I didn’t show up until 11:30pm on the 7th. So I missed my flight by an entire day. Totally my fault.

Indira Gandhi International Airport

Here’s the thing about the Delhi airport. You can’t enter unless you’re a ticketed passenger. There’s armed men at the entrances checking boarding passes and passports.  One of the guards told me I had missed my flight and he directed me to an area that was connected to the airport.

There I could buy a new ticket home from a ticket counter or call the airlines to book a new flight. There was limited seating, no places to grab food or drinks and there were no bathrooms.

No Airline Agents

There are no agents to speak with. The ticket counter in the area I was at wasn’t for any specific airline. One person mans the counter and you can purchase the first flight out, but that’s it.

Inside the airport there are ticket counters with agents, but they check you in for your flight. Nothing more. In addition, there are only smaller airlines like SpiceJet that have Air India that have permanent counters.  Larger international airlines like British Airways only have agents there when they have a flight leaving from Delhi.

By this point it’s 1:00am. I had free international data and texting with T-Mobile, but not calling. It was .25 cents a minute and I knew a call to the airlines would be lengthy. So I quickly called a friend and explained the situation. I asked him to call the airlines and arrange a new flight. An hour later I was booked on a 4am flight on Etihad Airways by American Airlines, who I booked my original flight through. I was on BA because that’s one of AA’s partners. It’s now 2:30am and didn’t have long to catch this flight, but I was determined to do it.

Armed Men Physically Block Me From Leaving the Airport

I received an email confirmation and was allowed to enter the airport. I ran to the ticket counter to get my boarding pass and was told that AA didn’t process my flight correctly so they refused to issue me a boarding pass. As a result I missed the flight. I called my friend again and was booked on a Cathay Pacific flight at 10:30pm, which was 18 hours later.

It was frustrating, but it was my fault that I missed the first flight and everything finally seemed sorted so I didn’t care. At this point I just wanted to sleep and go back to my friend’s house, who lived in Delhi, until my new flight. As I tried to exit the airport, men with guns stopped me. They screamed at me in Hindi and wouldn’t allow me to leave. I had no idea what was happening.

I called my friend and she didn’t understand why I couldn’t leave. She asked to speak to the guard, but he refused to talk to her on the phone. We were both utterly confused.

Airport Rule–Can’t Leave Once you Enter

I  went to the information desk and they also said I couldn’t leave.  They told me once someone enters the airport, they can’t leave unless it’s on their departed flight. That was all they’d say. Neither my friend nor her husband had heard of this rule before and we weren’t sure what to make of it.

American Embassy was Amazing

By now it’s 6:00AM. I can’t leave the airport, I can’t go through security where there are restaurants and a hotel since I can’t get my boarding pass. Agents for your flight don’t arrive until three hours beforehand so I was stuck. I started posting videos of what was happening on Facebook and friends called the American Embassy on my behalf.

They contacted me immediately and were also perplexed as to why I couldn’t leave.  They didn’t know anything about this rule either. They asked if I was being held at gunpoint and I said no, but the armed men were trying to intimidate me by showing me their guns while yelling at me. The woman from the embassy then asked if I was allowed to use the restroom and I said I was.

Because guns weren’t drawn on me and I could use the bathroom freely, the embassy couldn’t send a representative, which I understood. I felt safe enough, so the support from the embassy should go to people in dangerous circumstances.

That said, they did stay with me on the phone for over an hour, they found a way around this rule and talked to employees at the airport  that helped me leave.

Loophole

So here’s the one way to get out of the airport if you’re in this situation. You have to prove you missed your flight. I had the email confirmation on my phone from BA and obviously I wasn’t on that flight, but that isn’t enough. An airline employee has to confirm you’re not on their manifest and they have to walk you out of the airport.

As mentioned previously, there aren’t agents from major international airlines at the airport except  when there is a flight leaving Delhi on that airline. I was lucky and there was a BA flight departing, so agents were there. At the suggestion of the embassy, I started approaching any employee I could find. Finally, someone from another airline helped me find where BA was checking passengers in for a flight and told them what happened to me. An employee took me to a side exit, showed her badge, told the guard I was okay to leave and signed me out.

I came back to the airport hours later for my new flight without incident.

Things to Note

–A local Indian man also missed his flight. He was directed to the area I was at and rebooked his flight. He was able to leave the airport and I wasn’t. He happened to be on my flight to Hong Kong, where we both caught connecting flights to our final destinations. I told him what happened to me and asked how he left. He said, “Being a local Indian man has its advantages.”

-Most people at the airport aren’t helpful. The armed guards won’t give you the time of day and the information desk is hit or miss. One guy told me to wait near the desk and he would have a BA agent help me. I waited for over an hour and when I asked him if I should keep waiting he ignored me. It was like he didn’t want to deal with me and so he told me whatever he felt like get me to leave him alone for awhile.  So I walked around and went up to a guy who worked for an airline I’d never heard of before. The embassy talked to him and he helped me find the BA agents.

–The employees  at the information desk rotate on a regular basis, so the trick is to keep going back and ask someone new for assistance.

–It’s an unfortunate fact that many men are hostile towards women in India and view females as their property. Women are degraded, abused and grossly mistreated. My encounter with a lot of the male employees wasn’t pleasant. They yelled at me when  I politely asked for assistance and treated me like a criminal. Not all men of course. The Cathay Pacific agent who checked me in was very kind, as was the guy who showed me where to find British Airways agents. But, be prepared, especially as a solo female traveler. You will encounter a level of sexism that’s pretty unbelievable.

–Arrive at least three hours before your flight. The lines to get inside the airport can be long. Once you’re in, the lines at the ticket counter can be up to an hour wait, if not longer. Then you go immigration and then security. It’s a process, so the earlier the better.

–Be mindful of when your visa expires. You won’t be allowed to board your flight if it has expired. So if you miss your flight and your visa is about to expire, apply for another one quickly. You can’t get it approved on the spot. It takes at least two days. Click here to apply.  Also call the American Embassy and have them give you advice on what to do.

What to do if you Miss your Flight

–Don’t go to the airport if you know you’ve missed your flight. Instead call the airline and talk to them directly since you can’t talk to agents at the airport. Plus, the cell and Wi-Fi service there is spotty at best, so it’s better to handle the situation beforehand if possible.

–Make sure to have your email confirmation before you attempt to enter the airport, otherwise you won’t be allowed in.

–If you miss your flight from Delhi while you’re at the airport, don’t try to leave. You still be stopped. You will have to figure it out while you’re there. Call your airline ASAP or have someone do it on your behalf.

–If you go to the information desk and tell them you missed your flight, they will probably escort you out of the airport to the area where I initially was. You don’t want to be there because there are no bathrooms, restaurants or many places to sit. So try to stay in the ticket counter area as long as possible. There are clean restrooms and a couple coffee stands where you can get water and snacks.

–There is a Holiday Inn at the airpot in Delhi and passengers leaving from T3 can in theory stay there. However, you need a boarding pass to access the hotel and once you enter the hotel  you can’t leave until your flight.  I didn’t have a boarding pass since my next flight wasn’t for another 18 hours. So I couldn’t access the hotel–or at least that’s what I was told. It’s definitely worth trying while you’re there. All they can do is tell you no.

–If you find yourself in a similar situation to mine, don’t panic. It doesn’t help. Take a deep breath, know it will take some time, but you will be okay.

 

Beware of Volunteering Solutions India Program-Awful Experience

The Volunteering Solutions program in Delhi, India is highly unethical and I strongly advise against  working with the organization.

By Heather Newgen

I considered myself to be an experienced volunteer. I had one successful international volunteering trip under my belt, so why wouldn’t I know what I was doing? I was a “pro” now, so I didn’t really need to do much research on organizations since they were all the same and have good intentions.

It honestly never occurred to me that anyone would be unethical when interacting with volunteers, or create scams to sucker us into a program that was unprofessional. I once naively thought this, which is utterly embarrassing. I learned I was completely wrong when I signed up with Volunteering Solutions in 2009, and it was a hard lesson, but one worth knowing.

I actually had an uneasy feeling about them from the start. My gut tried to warn me, but I pushed the red flags aside telling myself I was overreacting. Unlike the previous year when I went to Morocco with Cross Cultural Solutions who prepped us well, Volunteering Solutions was difficult to get in touch with. I had a million questions, but no one would email me back.

Finally, around 1:00 a.m. one night, I received a phone call from out of nowhere. It was someone at Volunteering Solutions, and they said they’d talk to me about concerns I had. I thought it was odd, but I was happy to talk to someone from the organization. I reluctantly paid the program fee, but I wasn’t overly excited like I thought I would be. I again dismissed any weird feelings and left for New Delhi.

Someone from the organization picked me up, although really late after I arrived, and took me to the volunteer house, which was the cockroach infested, dirty basement of the country director’s beautiful and luxurious home. There was about 20 girls sweating to death in a small space. People were sleeping on the floors trying to cool down and many were breaking out into heat rashes because there was no ventilation or windows to open.

I know some people right now are probably thinking I’m a spoiled Westerner who thought I was going to stay at a Four Seasons type of resort, but that truly isn’t the case. I’d sleep in a tent on the ground if I thought my money was going towards a good cause.

I was horrified by the accommodations, but tried to not pass judgment just yet, however, several other girls expressed their concerns when I arrived. American dollars/Euros go a long way in India, and clearly, the money didn’t go towards our housing, so people were questioning where the program fee was going.

I barely slept that night because it was so suffocating, but I woke up the next morning looking forward to the next few weeks. For breakfast, we went into the country director’s house and sat down at the table. We were given a piece of white toast, with a little butter and some yogurt.

Again, I’m not trying to come across as a high maintenance person, but now I was starting to wonder where our money was going. It’s not so much what food we were given or what the volunteering housing looked like, I was more confused as to what we paid for.

I was still hopeful that the money was given to the school in the slums we’d be going to, but I soon discovered that wasn’t the case. I moved out of the basement after the first night, as did a few other girls. It was too uncomfortable, miserable and filthy. We checked into a hotel down the street, which we were happier at.

I was also eating at the hotel instead of the volunteer house because the food was better and more nutritious. Needless to say I didn’t get a refund for the accommodations or meals from Volunteering Solutions, but it was my decision to leave, so I didn’t ask for my money back and I wasn’t expecting to get it back.

The first week of the program was orientation, so every day we walked to the volunteer house, which we realized quickly was a waste of time. I wished we were volunteering instead of learning about Indian bread. It was frustrating.

While I wasn’t enjoying Volunteering Solutions, I did love meeting the other volunteers and getting to the know Delhi, the culture and local people. Some of the girls who left the housing with me were so distraught that they changed their flights and went home early. They were over the entire situation and had enough of the program.

I didn’t blame them one bit, but I was determined to volunteer. I made it this far into the trip and I was going to work with street kids in the slums no matter what.

The first day of volunteering, we went to one of New Delhi’s roughest neighborhoods. In an area full of rubble and debris was an alley where kids gathered on a cement floor to interact with us.

The country director drove us in his car and dropped us off. There was no introduction to the children or the adults in charge, there was no guidance on what we were supposed to do, and there was no schedule. I guess we could stay there as long as we wanted and then take an auto-rickshaw back. The situation was totally uncomfortable and I felt like we weren’t wanted there.

The project description on VS’ website stated volunteers would help prepare meals, create a fun environment for the kids through new activities and games, and teach English, which I had never done before, nor was I prepared to do. It was never explained what we would actually be doing, and yes, I absolutely should have been more clear and asked questions. I take responsibility for that. I really just didn’t know better, which is mortifying looking back.

So I went with colored chalk, pens, toys and games for the kids, but I was yelled at when I arrived saying I must teach. Teach what? There were no supplies, no lesson plan, and no instructions. There was just an older woman sitting in the middle of the different aged kids reciting the A,B,C’s over and over to them.

Heather Newgen at school in New Delhi slums

I was unskilled, untrained and had no business being there. I was embarrassed for the program and myself. They didn’t have the kid’s interest at heart. They just wanted to send people there to make it seem like volunteers were needed, but I don’t think we were.

I didn’t know what to do, so I took out the chalk I brought, put some of the older children in a group, and taught a few math problems. My being there did not make a difference and I certainly didn’t have the impact I thought I would.

I didn’t want to go back. I was ashamed. In addition, I didn’t feel safe going to the slums alone. After we were taken once, we were expected to go on our own. Not sure how anyone was supposed to remember how to get there without a map or directions…
To make matters worse, we later found out the NGO of the school hadn’t received any of the money he was promised from the program manager. A volunteer with VS, who is now a life-long friend, told her family about our experience. They lived nearby and her mom went to the school with us the next day to find out what was going on.

It was then we knew we were being lied to. Volunteering Solutions was a total scam—at least in India. I can’t speak for the other countries they are in. I confronted the country director and instead of addressing my concerns and trying to be helpful, he and his wife started screaming at me. I asked repeatedly where my money was going and wanted to see a breakdown of how they spent volunteer’s program fee. Reasonable things I thought, but apparently not.

They kept side stepping the question by turning things around on me. I asked why our money wasn’t partly going to the NGO as he had said and I was met with more hostility.
I didn’t back down and continued to ask questions, but they refused to do anything but yell. His wife kept saying, “I can’t believe you would ask us these types of questions in our own home,” and acted as if I was trying to get inappropriate information out of them. Crazy doesn’t even begin to describe the situation.

Another volunteer witnessed the contentious argument and was outraged by their behavior. It was unbelievable. I’m not sure if the country director is still there today, but this happened in 2009 and I know just a couple of years ago he was still working for Volunteering Solutions, which is shocking.

I went back to volunteer a couple of times, but felt it was pointless. So I checked out of the hotel, stayed with new friends I made and vowed to spread the word about Volunteering Solutions.

I don’t ever want another person to go through the nightmare that I did. When I got home I started doing research and found a slew of negative reviews all mirroring my similar experience. I also started a group on Facebook called ‘Beware of Volunteering Solutions” where others told me they had written bad reviews of the organization and were threatened to be sued by the program if they weren’t taken down.

I was taken aback that they would go that far. I’m sorry that I didn’t do my homework ahead of time, and it’s my fault that I was so ignorant about voluntourism, but here’s what I have learned:

–Listen to your instincts. You get bad vibes for a reason.

–Do your research. I can’t stress this enough. Do not sign up with a program before you’re 100% sure they’re professional and legit. Don’t just read the reviews on the organization’s website. Who knows if they’re actually real or not?

–Don’t work with kids if you’re unskilled or untrained, especially if you’re just volunteering short-term.

–Know exactly what your volunteer assignment is going to be ahead of time. Also, find out if you’re expected to go to your project alone.

–There are positive experiences to be had volunteering abroad and domestically. It’s unfortunate that there are corrupt organizations out there, but it’s your responsibility as a volunteer to educate yourself and be aware of the issues with volunteering so you can avoid them. I strongly support voluntourism, however, it needs to be done in an ethical manner.

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