Hello my viewers,
I think the cold is no longer at that dangerous level. Now you can enjoy my new story comfortably, maybe with a thin blanket over you. Let us once again get ready to board a new flight of enjoyment.
Our destination today is one of the most popular and most visited places by foreigners in India – Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
Let’s begin our journey.
This journey gave me a complete experience of:
Flight delays
Expensive airport food
Free meals due to delay
Taxi system in Kolkata
Metro exprience to Airport
DigiYatra convenience
Chaos at gates
And unexpected turbulence
🧳 From Varanasi to Kolkata
I was in Varanasi and suddenly had some urgent work in Kolkata. Due to the short notice, I could not get any train tickets, not even in Tatkal. So I decided to travel by flight.
As we all know about the recent Indigo crisis, I was worried about cancellation. Thank God, my flight was not cancelled, but it was delayed by 2 hours.
Since I am already familiar with such delays, I was not surprised. I accepted the situation, stayed calm, and started searching for a seat. That day, the airport was fully crowded. Not a single seat was vacant because almost every flight was delayed.
Finally, I found a seat in one corner. It was actually broken, so nobody wanted to sit there. But I managed and waited peacefully for my boarding announcement.
☕ Expensive Tea at the Airport
After waiting for about two hours, I bought a cup of Assam tea which cost me ₹200. I was shocked when I heard the price of coffee was ₹300.
Then I realized one thing:
The smaller the airport, the higher the prices.
🍛 Free Food Due to Delay
At last, our flight announcement came, and we were given a new gate number, totally different from the earlier one. The new gate was on the ground floor, while I was sitting on the first floor.
After going down by lift, I saw a huge crowd of people carrying food plates. Each plate had about 75% basmati rice and 25% matar paneer sabzi. It was provided free of cost because the flight was delayed during lunchtime.
Since my stomach was not well, I did not take the food.
After some time, the crowd reduced, and I went near my gate, showed my ticket, and waited for the Indigo bus. Elderly people were seated in wheelchairs a little far from us.
When the bus arrived, we all boarded it and reached the aircraft.
🛫 Takeoff Delay Like a Railway Crossing
After boarding, the flight started moving toward the runway but suddenly stopped for around 30 minutes. It felt like waiting at a railway crossing.
Varanasi airport has only one runway, so takeoffs and landings happen on the same strip. We were waiting for other flights to land first. After all landings were completed, we finally took off.
In less than one hour, we reached Kolkata Airport.
🚕 Taxi Confusion at Kolkata Airport
I rushed to book an Uber because I had to reach the bus stand quickly. My last bus was scheduled about 45 minutes after landing.
At the taxi stand, I noticed that Kolkata has a different system. Instead of the taxi coming directly, they asked me to go to a specific pole number (like Pole 10 or Pole 15) and wait there.
This was new for me.
Finally, I got my taxi and requested the driver to take the shortest and least traffic route. He asked for ₹100 extra, and I agreed.
🚬 Disappointing Taxi Experience
While driving, the driver received a phone call and became angry. To release stress, he started smoking while driving. This disappointed me a lot. At least he kept the cigarette outside the car window, but still it was unsafe.
Due to heavy traffic, I unfortunately missed my bus. That night, I stayed at my relative’s house and reached my destination the next morning.
After finishing my work, I booked another flight to return to Varanasi from Kolkata.
Security check was smooth and well organized with multiple counters.
🚇A Confusing but Memorable Metro Experience in Kolkata
THere is another memorable event from my journey, though it is not directly inside the airport but still a part of my airport story. I had decided to take a cab directly from the Esplanade bus stand to the Kolkata airport because I was not feeling well and wanted to avoid any hassle, but suddenly the bus stopped at a place I could not understand at all, as the roads and surroundings were covered by buses everywhere. I making me feel like I was trapped inside a cage made of buses. Being new to Kolkata and unwell, I could not even book an Uber because I did not know the name of the place and there was no empty space for a taxi to stop, so I had no choice but to go inside the nearby metro station , which was only visible in front of me. To reach the airport, I knew I had to change from the Blue Line to the Yellow Line at Noapara station, but I could not find the Blue Line entrance at Esplanade and only saw the Green Line Metro station, which I had heard was connected underground, so I entered it hoping to reach Noapara; however, the metro suddenly stopped one station before Noapara at Dum Dum and everyone was asked to vacate the train, leaving me completely confused and helpless. I asked several people how to reach the airport but no one could guide me properly until I met a couple who were also going to the airport and told me to wait for the next metro going to Noapara and then change to the Yellow Line metro for the airport. Finally, when I asked a police officer which station ticket I should take to reach the airport, she replied with just two words, “Jai Hind,”
🏢 Full Airport Experience with DigiYatra
This time, I experienced the airport from the beginning. All departure gates are on the first floor, where cars can directly reach, just like many Tamil Nadu airports.
I entered quickly using DigiYatra.
DigiYatra app allows entry without standing in long queues. You just upload your flight details and selfie. It is available on Play Store and works in many Indian airports.
Inside Kolkata airport, I found every variety of food. From this, I understood that people of Kolkata are very fond of food.
Security check was smooth and well organized with multiple counters.
🚻 Toilets & Gate Chaos
I searched for the toilet but found that cleanliness was not as good as in some other airports.
Near my gate, a big chaos was happening. Passengers going to Imphal were angry because their gates were changing again and again. A heated argument occurred between Indigo staff and travelers.
Due to people moving away, I finally got a seat near my gate.
✈️ Final Flight Experience
After one hour, boarding started. As usual, people were in a rush even though everyone had assigned seats.
I boarded last and requested an emergency exit seat, which was already vacant, but they demanded extra money, so I refused.
The flight took off. During the journey, I experienced strong turbulence. Surprisingly, there was no announcement from the pilot asking passengers to fasten seat belts. In my previous flights, pilots always warned passengers even during little turbulence. This shocked me
Every journey teaches something new. And this one gave me many stories to remember.
Thank you for reading my airport story.
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