Chennai airport queues

The first thing our local guide asked my wife, Nancy, and me when we arrived in Chennai, India, was the departure time of our flight to Bangkok two days hence. After a month of travel throughout India without a hitch, we wondered about his question.

The next day he advised us to be at Madras International Airport (MAA) at least three hours before our scheduled departure (our flight left at midnight around Dec. 23, 2008). We thought this to be a bit excessive, but we followed his advice; in fact, we arrived at the airport 3½ hours before our scheduled departure.

Check-in at Thai Airways International took almost one hour. We then waited at passport control for 1½ hours. The last queue was security, which took 45 minutes.

What a perfect example of government bureaucracy run amok!

ARTHUR CARLSON

Laredo, TX