Delhi Airport Terminal 1, 2 or 3? Airlines, Transfers and the Road to Agra

Which terminal does your flight use at Delhi airport?

Most first-time visitors land at Terminal 3, because every international arrival, from Toronto, London, Dubai or Singapore, comes in there. The surprise is on the domestic side. Delhi is the country's biggest domestic hub, and a flight number, not just an airline name, now decides the building.

That matters for two groups. Travellers connecting from an international flight to a domestic one may need to change terminals. And anyone being picked up needs to tell the driver the exact terminal, because Terminal 1 is far from the other two.

This guide explains the split, the movement between buildings, the pickup logic and the road routes out of the airport, including the long run to Agra. For the service side, our Delhi airport transfers page covers how we handle arrivals.

Terminal 3: the international terminal

Terminal 3 is the big one. All international arrivals and departures use it, and so do a large number of Air India and other domestic-network flights. If you are flying in from outside India, this is where you land.

Terminal 2 closed in April 2025 for an upgrade. According to a Tribune India report updated on 16 September 2025, the airport operator planned to reopen it on 26 October 2025, the start of the winter schedule, with around 120 daily domestic flights of Air India and IndiGo moving there. The report does not say which flights stay in Terminal 3 and which go to Terminal 2, and we could not find an official flight-by-flight list, so the terminal printed on your own ticket is the only reliable guide.

What you will find in Terminal 3: the Airport Express Metro station, the largest set of shops and food, the main international immigration halls and the long baggage-claim areas. For arrivals, build in time. As our own planning allowance (not an airport statistic), an international arrival from landing to walking out can run an hour to an hour and a half at a busy time, and more when several wide-bodies land together in the early-morning bank.

Terminal 2: reopened in October 2025 for Air India and IndiGo domestic flights

Terminal 2 is the upgraded domestic terminal. The press report cited above names Air India and IndiGo as the airlines moving there.

The wrinkle is that an airline name does not settle the building. Neither Air India nor IndiGo is limited to one terminal in every case, so when you see either name on your ticket, check the flight number and the terminal field before you head to the airport.

We could not verify an official walking time or shuttle time between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3, so do not plan a tight connection around a figure from a forum. Ask at the information desk, and if you have bags, take the shuttle or a short car ride rather than walking.

Terminal 1: Air India Express and the budget domestic carriers

Terminal 1 is a domestic terminal and, by the same report, it had become fully operational before Terminal 2 closed for its upgrade in April 2025. Which carriers use it now can change with each schedule, and we could not verify an official list, so read the terminal on your ticket. International flights are not handled there.

Because Terminal 1 is a separate drive away from Terminals 2 and 3, it is the one to double-check. We could not verify an official transfer time, so allow generous time for any move between Terminal 1 and either of the others, and do not plan to walk between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3.

At a glance: who uses which terminal

If you want the airline's own allocation, open its app or the terminal-change notice on its website, as these notices are updated when flights move.

Moving between terminals: the shuttle, timing and the connection trap

Guides describe a free shuttle between the terminals, with a boarding-pass check. We could not confirm the shuttle's route, frequency or waiting time from an official page, so ask airport staff on arrival. Some airlines move through-checked bags between terminals without you collecting them, which helps for connections, but check with your airline.

The trap is on separate tickets. If you land in Terminal 3 from abroad and book a second domestic flight on a different ticket from Terminal 1 or Terminal 2, you must clear immigration, collect your baggage and check in again. As our own planning allowance, leave at least four hours for that sequence. Our guide to whether a one-hour layover is enough explains why that rule travels well, and the post on what happens if you miss a connecting flight covers the fallback.

For a protected single ticket, the airline normally reroutes you. For two tickets, you carry the risk.

Where to meet your driver at Delhi airport

At Terminal 3, the practical meeting options are the arrivals hall, where a driver can hold a name board if you have asked for one, and the pickup lane outside. Arrivals roads are busy and the authorities limit waiting, so a driver who is not already at the kerb may circle. Telling the driver once you have your bags, not when you land, works best.

Four small steps remove most pickup problems:

1. Give the driver the terminal that appears on your ticket, plus the flight number.
2. Agree the meeting point before you land, preferably inside arrivals with a name board.
3. Keep mobile data or roaming switched on in the first hour.
4. Do not follow anyone who offers a "cab" in the arrivals hall unless you booked it.

Our airport meet-and-greet service is described separately, and our desk tracks the flight, so the pickup time moves with your landing.

Delhi airport to the city: modes, distances and times

Road routing (OSRM) from Terminal 3 gives about 7 km to Aerocity (roughly 10 min without traffic), about 10 km to Gurugram's Cyber City (roughly 12 min), about 19 km to Connaught Place (roughly 25 min) and about 28 km to Noida Sector 18 (roughly 35 min). Aerocity is the nearest hotel cluster. As our own planning allowance, Delhi traffic is heaviest from about 8 to 11 a.m. and 5 to 9 p.m., and monsoon downpours can slow a drive sharply.

The Airport Express Metro runs to the New Delhi station, via Aerocity, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is the place to check current times and fares. It is quick and traffic-proof, but at the other end you still need a taxi or a second metro line, and the stations are not designed for large suitcases.

A private car wins when you arrive in the small hours, when you are going to a farm-house or hotel far from a metro station, when two or more people share the cost of the ride, and when you do not want to negotiate the first rupee in a new country.

The fastest exits to Gurugram, Aerocity and the Yamuna Expressway

Terminal 3 sits on the south-west side of the capital, right on the road toward Gurugram. For Gurugram's business districts, the usual route is National Highway 48 toward Gurugram, with the Dwarka Expressway as the alternative for the newer sectors. In rush hour, the extra minutes come from the toll plaza queues and the junctions beside the airport. For Aerocity, expect a short run on the service roads.

Heading to Agra is the opposite direction from the sectors above. The Yamuna Expressway starts beyond Greater Noida, on the eastern side of the National Capital Region, so a trip from Terminal 3 first crosses or skirts the city before it reaches the Expressway. The road distance to Agra is about 215 km, roughly 2 hours 45 minutes without traffic. As our own planning allowance, allow 3 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours 30 minutes depending on the departure time and the way out of the city.

Check your fixed fare

For the full run, see our Delhi airport to Agra transfer page, and for the visit itself our guide to Taj Mahal timings and the Agra day trip. The Archaeological Survey of India's site links to its official ticketing portal, which is the place to buy tickets rather than from touts on the day. The Taj Mahal is traditionally closed on Fridays, so plan the route around that.

Incredible India, the tourism ministry's portal, lists Agra as part of the Golden Triangle with Delhi and Jaipur, with Agra Airport and Agra City station as nearest transport points. The best seasons it notes are February to April and September to November.

Arriving at Delhi airport: a calm first hour

1. Arrive with a plan. Know your terminal, your driver or your metro station, and your hotel address in writing.
2. Get cash and data in that order. A SIM or eSIM saves you asking strangers for directions.
3. Use official counters. Prepaid taxi counters and metro ticket offices are signposted.
4. Do not accept help you did not ask for. Offers inside arrivals to carry bags or find a cab are rarely free.
5. Give the driver a second number. Phones die, and a hotel concierge is a useful backstop.

Reserve your car

Where to go next

If you are planning a wider trip through the region, the Asia-Pacific hub lists every airport we cover, and the airport transfers hub shows the full network. Travelling on to Mumbai? See our Mumbai airport transfers page. And if you are choosing between hotel areas, Aerocity is the closest cluster to Terminal 3, while Gurugram suits meetings in the business districts.