Your 70-Year-Old Mother Is Flying Alone. Here's What Actually Happens at Delhi Airport

Your mother is 73. She has a domestic flight from Delhi T3 to Hyderabad. She'll be alone for the first time.

You've thought through everything: her medication is labelled, her ID is in the front pocket, she knows your number by heart. But the airport — that part — you're less sure about.

Here's what she'll actually face at Delhi T3 domestic departures. And what happens differently when you book assistance.

What IGI T3 looks like without help

Delhi T3 handles 75 million passengers a year. On a normal morning at 8 AM, the domestic terminal has:

• Security queues of 25–45 minutes (no priority lane for unassisted passengers)
• Check-in counters spread across a concourse that's 400m wide
• Baggage drop that requires lifting suitcases onto a belt
• The gate, which might be 600m from check-in — through crowds, past multiple intersections, with no clear escort
• Announcements in Hindi and English, often unclear over the PA system

For a 73-year-old travelling alone with two bags, this is an hour of sustained physical and cognitive work. On a hot day, with a tight connection, it's exhausting before she's even left the ground.

Step by step: what our assistant does

When you book airport assistance for your parent at Delhi T3, here is the exact sequence:

At the drop-off point: our assistant meets her at the vehicle kerb. He takes both bags from the car boot immediately. She doesn't touch the luggage again until she's at the departure gate.

Check-in: he escorts her to the priority check-in counter — not the regular queue. The bags are checked in. Boarding pass is collected. He holds it for her and transfers it to her when she needs it.

Security: priority lane at T3 domestic security. The regular lane averages 35 minutes on a weekday morning. Priority: under 10 minutes. He stays with her through the process, helps with trays, makes sure nothing is left.

To the gate: he walks beside her. T3's domestic gates are at the far end of the concourse. There are moving walkways — he navigates them for her. If she tires, he arranges a wheelchair or buggy.

At the gate: he stays with her until she's in the boarding queue. He checks the departure board, confirms her seat number, and tells her when to board. He doesn't leave until she's through the door.

You get a message: the moment she's boarded, your WhatsApp gets a notification. Not a guess, not "she should be boarding now." A confirmation. You go about your day.

For arrivals — what happens when she lands

If you've booked arrival assistance (for when she's landing somewhere), our assistant is inside the arrivals hall before the flight lands. He's at the gate with her name on a board.

He collects her bags from the belt. He navigates customs. He walks her to the car. If you've booked a car transfer, she's inside it within 20 minutes of landing.

She doesn't have to find anyone. She doesn't have to navigate anything. She just follows the person with her name on a board.

The wheelchair question

If your parent needs a wheelchair — or you're not sure if they'll need one by the end of the airport — note it in the booking. We pre-coordinate with the airport wheelchair service. The chair is ready when she arrives. The assistant accompanies the wheelchair attendant throughout; she's never handed off to a stranger.

Wheelchair assistance at Indian airports is free (the airport provides it), but without our coordination, it can take 20–30 minutes to arrange on arrival. Pre-booked through us: it's waiting.

What this costs — and how it compares

At Delhi T3, full departure assistance (kerb to gate, priority check-in, priority security, bag handling) costs ₹2,199.

For perspective: - A return flight ticket to be there yourself: ₹5,000–12,000 - A day off work plus travel from another city: time + cost - Asking a relative in Delhi to come from across the city in morning traffic: their morning, not yours

The ₹2,199 is the one thing that means you don't have to be there — and she doesn't have to manage it alone.

"But she's flown before. She'll be fine."

Maybe. But "she'll probably be fine" is a different calculation than "I know she's fine."

The things that go wrong for elderly solo travellers at Indian airports aren't disasters. They're the security queue taking longer than expected and the gate shutting early. They're the boarding pass getting crumpled and the scanner not reading it. They're the small confusions that compound under time pressure.

An assistant handles all of those before they become a problem. Not because your parent can't cope — because they shouldn't have to.

How to book for your parent from wherever you are

You don't need to be in India. The booking is online:

1. Visit the airport page for where she's departing or arriving
2. Enter her flight number and date
3. Enter her name and any notes (wheelchair needed, Hindi speaker preferred, hearing difficulty)
4. Enter your WhatsApp number for updates — not hers
5. Pay securely

You'll get confirmation. She doesn't need to do anything. Our assistant will be there.

Book Delhi Airport Assistance for Elderly Parent →

Or see all airports: Hyderabad · Mumbai · Bengaluru · Chennai

Common questions

She's never used a service like this. Will she know what to do? She doesn't need to do anything. Our assistant finds her — he has her name and flight number. She just looks for the name board with her name on it.

What if her flight is delayed 2 hours? We track the flight. The assistant adjusts automatically. No extra charge for delays.

She has a medical device (pacemaker / hearing aid / insulin pump). Does that cause problems at security? It can slow things down at standard security. At priority security with an experienced assistant, this is managed quickly. Note it in the booking and we'll brief the assistant.

Will the assistant stay until she's actually in the plane? Yes. Departure assistance stays until she's in the boarding queue and through the gate. We don't leave her at the security checkpoint.

My parent is 80 and this is their first solo flight. Is this enough? For most 80-year-olds in reasonable health: yes. If you have specific concerns about cognitive or mobility issues, WhatsApp us before booking and we'll advise honestly on what's appropriate.

Can I book for the return journey too? Yes — book arrivals and departures separately. Many families book a round trip: departure assistance from the origin city, arrival assistance at the destination.

The airport is the part of the journey you can control. The flight is the part you can't.

Sort out the airport. Then stop worrying.

Book Elderly Parent Airport Assistance →