Amritsar Airport (ATQ) Guide

Before security

• Entry: boarding pass/ticket plus photo ID checked at terminal entry gates.
• 30 CUTE-enabled check-in counters keep queues moving efficiently.
• Free Wi-Fi for the first 30 minutes, with affordable hourly access after.

Good to know

• ATQ, like Lucknow, has CAT-IIIB instrument landing capability — one of only six Indian airports so equipped, meaning flights can land safely even during North India’s dense winter fog (roughly December–January).
• There are no designated smoking zones at this airport.

In the arrivals hall

• Free trolleys and paid porter service are both available.
• Currency exchange counters serve international arrivals.
• An information counter and Lost and Found desk are located in the terminal.

Meeting someone?

• Greeters wait outside the terminal, near the arrival area — follow the signs posted around the airport for the correct pick-up zone.
• Given the historic Punjabi diaspora connection, UK and Canada arrivals often see large, joyful family welcomes — expect the arrivals area to be lively around those flight times.

Indian citizens

• Immigration applies to international trips only — passport, boarding pass, and destination visa where needed.
• Fast Track Immigration (FTI-TTP) e-gates are being rolled out at major Indian airports — check current availability at ATQ before relying on it.
• Returning residents get a duty-free allowance (general goods up to a rupee limit, plus limited alcohol and tobacco) — check current CBIC limits before shopping abroad. This matters here given how many passengers are returning NRIs from the UK and Canada.

OCI holders & PRs abroad

• OCI card holders use visa-free entry with a valid foreign passport + OCI card.
• Indian-origin travellers with foreign PR (e.g. Canadian or UK PR) but no OCI need a visa/e-visa like other foreign nationals.

Foreign nationals

• e-Visa holders: follow the e-Visa lane at immigration — carry the printed ETA approval.
• Regular visas use the standard foreigner queue; complete the arrival card from the plane or the hall.
• Customs: green channel if nothing to declare; currency above prescribed limits (foreign cash beyond ~US$5,000, or higher total instruments) must be declared.

Lounges

• VIP/business lounges are available for a comfortable pre-flight wait — access typically via card benefits, Priority Pass, airline premium cabins, or walk-in.
• Card note: bank lounge programmes changed across India in late 2025 — confirm your card’s current access before relying on it.

ATMs & forex

• ATMs are available throughout the terminal.
• Currency exchange counters support international passengers — airport rates carry a premium, so change only what you need.
• India runs heavily on UPI; a working international card plus a small cash reserve covers most travellers.

Shopping

Duty-free shopping is available for international passengers. Punjabi jutti (traditional embroidered footwear) and phulkari embroidery make genuinely distinctive regional souvenirs if you spot them.

Food

Restaurants and cafés operate throughout the terminal. Amritsar is one of India’s great food cities — if you have any time at all, seek out Amritsari kulcha and lassi or dal makhani before or after your flight rather than settling for generic fast food.

Restrooms & essentials

Restrooms are frequent and well-signed with accessible facilities throughout the terminal.

The good news

Because it’s one integrated building, there’s no shuttle bus or long walk between domestic and international sides — just a transfer between Gate 1 and Gate 2 areas within the same structure.

A genuine caveat

ATQ is not designed as a connecting hub — it has no anchor carrier building onward connections here. If you’re arriving on a UK flight and connecting to a domestic flight onward, you can do it, but treat it as a standard international-to-domestic transfer (immigration, bags, re-check-in) rather than a seamless same-airline connection — keep at least 2.5–3 hours.

Taxi & ride-hailing

• Prepaid taxi counters are right inside the terminal — the recommended, hassle-free option for first-time visitors.
• Uber/Ola both operate at the airport.
• Golden Temple: 20–30 minutes by road. City centre: similar timing.

Bus

A city Metrobus service (Route 501) has previously connected major landmarks to the airport and is expected to resume with upgraded routes — check current status before relying on it, since service has been inconsistent.

Looking ahead: the Delhi expressway

The under-construction Delhi–Amritsar–Katra Expressway will eventually cut road travel time to Delhi to around 4 hours — worth knowing if you’re weighing a flight connection through Delhi against a future direct drive.

Under 30 min away

• Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) — Sikhism’s most sacred site, with a free community kitchen (langar) that feeds tens of thousands daily, regardless of faith or background.
• Jallianwala Bagh — the memorial garden marking the site of the 1919 massacre, a profound and sobering piece of India’s independence history, right next to the Golden Temple.

Worth it with a few hours

• Wagah Border ceremony — the dramatic, world-famous flag-lowering ceremony at the India-Pakistan border, roughly 30–40 minutes away; a genuinely unique spectacle held daily before sunset.
• Partition Museum — a moving, well-curated museum on the 1947 Partition, in the city centre.

Closest to the airport

• Golden Temple (Sri Harmandir Sahib) — the holiest gurdwara in Sikhism, its gold-plated sanctum surrounded by the sacred Amrit Sarovar pool. Open 24 hours, with a head covering required and shoes removed before entry.

Amritsar’s other sacred sites

• Durgiana Temple — a Hindu temple built in a similar style to the Golden Temple, sometimes called the “Silver Temple.”
• Mata Lal Devi Temple — a unique, cave-like temple complex popular with local pilgrims.
• Ram Tirath Temple — associated with the sage Valmiki and the Ramayana, on the city’s outskirts.

Lost something at the airport?

• ATQ is operated by the Airports Authority of India — report lost items at the terminal’s Lost and Found desk, or check aai.aero/en/airports/amritsar for the current process.
• Left something on the plane? That goes to your airline, not the airport — airline representative contacts are usually in the arrival area.

Airline customer service

Use only the contact details on airlines’ official websites — fake “customer care numbers” planted in search results are a common scam in India:

• Air India — airindia.com → Contact Us (ticketing desk near departure gate 1)
• IndiGo — goindigo.in → Contact Us (24/7 chat in-app)
• Akasa Air — akasaair.com → Support
• International carriers (Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Scoot): use the airline’s own site.

At the airport

Basic medical assistance is available on-site — ask any airport staff member for the nearest facility. India’s all-in-one emergency number is 112 (ambulance also via 102/108).

Major hospitals within ~20–30 min

• Fortis Escorts Hospital, Amritsar — well-regarded private multi-speciality hospital.
• Amandeep Hospital — established private hospital serving the region.
• Guru Nanak Dev Hospital — a major government hospital in the city.

In Amritsar

Some countries with large Punjabi communities abroad (particularly the UK and Canada) may maintain a consular or visa-facilitation presence — check current listings before you travel.

If Amritsar can’t help

• Full embassies for most nationalities are in Delhi, about 1 hour away by air.
• Chandigarh, closer still, may have some regional consular services for Punjab.
• For a lost passport you’ll typically also need a police report (Punjab Police supports online lost-property complaints).

Physical stores

• Pharmacies and convenience stores are available along the airport road and near Raja Sansi village.
• For a fuller supermarket, expect a 20–25 minute drive toward central Amritsar.

The shortcut: delivery apps

Staying near the airport or in the city? Quick-commerce apps — Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart — deliver groceries, toiletries, chargers, and medicine, with good coverage across Amritsar’s developed areas.

The essential experience: langar

The Golden Temple’s langar (free community kitchen) serves simple vegetarian meals to everyone, regardless of religion or background, 24 hours a day. It’s not just charity — it’s one of the most moving communal experiences in India, and genuinely worth doing even briefly.

Don’t skip: Amritsari classics

This is one of India’s great food cities — Amritsari kulcha (stuffed flatbread), makhan (butter)-laden dal, and lassi at established local eateries are worth prioritising over hotel dining if your layover allows the trip into the city.

Hotel dining

Radisson Blu and other airport-area hotels offer reliable, comfortable dining minutes from the terminal.