Chhatrapati Shivrati International Airport - Mumbai - TravBuddy

Mumbai is fast becoming a very important face in Asia. Please understand, I've come to love India - the good, the bad and the ugly, but this airport is beyond understanding. With many of the worlds' important players coming in and out of CSIA, you might expect the government would take the Aviation Authority to task for not bringing this busy hub into the twentieth century...yeah, I know, we are now in the 21st century, but I'll shoot low and hope for the best. There are ongoing repairs and renovations, nut these are taking time - more time than one might expect. My friends in Mumbai ( or, Bombay, as they still insist on saying ) are as exasperated as anyone with this situation, but also understand that " this IS India. " The facilities are slowly improving and the ticketed passenger should take care to arrive on time and expect the unexpected. Also, do not expect airlines to board passengers according to handicapped status, families or FF status. Here's another hint - people will push, shove and damned near trampled you to get one place ahead. Now, if I were facing this in Dubuque, shall we say, I'd probably haul off and knock some a-hole off his or her feet with a well aimed carry on bag, but since I am always anxious to be what the US Dept of State would call a proper roving ambassador of American behavior, I bite my tongue and lower my bag to the floor. Just exercise patience, expect anything and everything and keep your sense of humor. If you are fortunate ( or unfortunate, as the case may be, depending on your point of view ) to fly in or out of CSIA during daylight hours, you will spot an enormous slum, right up to the runways. It's not the infamous Dahravi, but it is horrendous enough.