• Clipper Lounge, Mumbai Terminal 2
• Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, Kochi Airport
• Clipper Lounge Cochin
• Air India 682, Cochin – Mumbai, Economy

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I planned a last minute weekend getaway earlier this week, and I decided to head to Cochin for the weekend. However, I also wanted to check out the Terminal 2 in Mumbai, which went live about 10 days back. At the moment, the terminal only serves international flights, and my first international trip for the year is still a few days out. So, for a change, I decided to fly Air India and use one of their domestic flights that fly from the Terminal 2.

I’d been walked through this airport a long while back, when it was still under construction, however never in my wildest dreams did I know it would turn out to be such a good airport. I was dumb struck as I got dropped into the driveway of the new Terminal 2. Have a look:

As I walked in, there was a gigantic bunch of check-in banks, which is contrary to the earlier Terminal 2, where it was more like being in a cattle mart to check-in. This one was comparable to many international airports I’ve visited over the years.

I approached the Air India check-in counters, which were empty at this hour because not too many AI flights here I presume. There was a clean and lighted feel to the airport, unlike the early one which had low roofs and no sense of space.

After collecting my boarding passes, I proceeded to the security check. The earlier airport required you to have immigration check before going through security. However, because this airport will handle domestic operations in a while from now as well, that model has been twisted to make security before immigration checks. However, I had to get a stamp on my BP saying I was a domestic passenger, and still pass through the immigration counters. I wonder if this will be the case when domestic operations will also work through this new airport terminal.

Before I went through security, I saw this beautiful model layout for the airport. They did have a couple of A380s parked in this as well

Post passport control, the airport opens up into a vast retail area, and there is a food court there as well. A lot of shops are open, and a lot more are still under the process of opening. There is also enormous space to sit and wait for your flights. Some pictures are here:

One of the curio shops had this very interesting display. I totally loved it!

There are also free internet browsing terminals strewn around the airport.

I also proceeded to the gates area to click some pictures before heading to the lounges. Here are some pictures from the waiting area:

While I will cover the lounges separately, I would like to mention here that there is an airport lounge which is used by all airlines. There is also a Clipper Lounge, which is a contract lounge, and welcomed all Priority Pass customers, as well as the MasterCard users from India.

Eventually, I proceeded to the gates, where I was going to be bussed to my flight (since I was on a domestic flight!)

I can tell you transiting through this airport was a really great experience and I am hoping to use them more often.

Related Posts:

• Mumbai’s new Terminal 2 to go live on January 15, 2014
• First pictures of the new Terminal 2 at Mumbai and interim lounge

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