Chicago to New Delhi (ORD–DEL) — Airlines, Schedules & Connections

US passport holders need a visa to enter India. The eVisa is the standard option for tourists, applied for at indianvisaonline.gov.in. The 30-day eTourist visa costs $25 (single or double entry). The 1-year and 5-year eTourist visas cost $40 and $80 respectively, both with multiple entries and a maximum stay of 90 days per visit. Processing takes 3 to 5 working days. Upload a passport scan and a recent photo. Passport must be valid for at least 6 months beyond the date of entry with at least 2 blank pages.

The eVisa is accepted at 28 designated airports including Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM), Bengaluru (BLR), Chennai (MAA), Kolkata (CCU), and Hyderabad (HYD), plus 5 seaports. At the airport, proceed to the eVisa immigration counter with your printed eVisa confirmation. Biometrics (fingerprints and photo) are captured. India also offers traditional paper visas through the embassy with longer validity options for business and employment.

Direct flights from New York JFK to Delhi run about 14 hours 30 minutes on Air India. Newark to Mumbai runs about 15 hours 30 minutes on United and Air India. Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington Dulles also have nonstop service to Indian cities. India uses the Indian rupee (INR), trading at roughly 85 INR per $1. UPI (Unified Payments Interface) dominates digital payments in India: Google Pay and PhonePe are accepted at millions of merchants. Metro systems operate in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad with fares from INR 10 to INR 60 ($0.12 to $0.70). Auto-rickshaws are the universal last-mile transport: use the Uber or Ola app for metered pricing.

CTA Blue Line runs 24/7 from downtown Loop stations to O'Hare (45 min, $5). Pace buses serve suburbs. Ride-shares cost $35–55 from downtown depending on traffic; add 30+ minutes during rush hour on the Kennedy Expressway.Economy parking lots E/F connect via ATS people mover. Terminal 5 (international) is separate from Terminals 1–3; allow extra time for inter-terminal transfers.

Airport Express Metro from T3 to New Delhi Railway Station (18–20 min, ₹60) runs 5am–11:30pm. T1 (domestic departures) has a free shuttle to T3 for the metro. Prepaid taxi booths in arrivals offer fixed fares; the New Delhi railway area is ₹400–600.Ola and Uber are reliable from DEL and often cheaper than prepaid taxis. Delhi traffic is severe; plan 60–90 minutes for surface transport during peak hours even though the airport is only 15 km from Connaught Place. NH-48 expressway provides the main access road.

Semi-arid climate with extreme seasonal variation. Summers (April–June) are extremely hot (38–46°C). Heat affects ground crew capacity but flights operate normally. Monsoon season (July–September) brings heavy rain and severe thunderstorms that frequently cause delays and diversions. Dust storms (andhi) precede monsoon onset in May–June and reduce visibility to near zero within minutes.

Dense fog is the most disruptive winter condition. December and January bring persistent cold fog (5–10°C with near-zero visibility) that can shut down operations for hours each morning. Delhi is one of the foggiest major airports in Asia during this period. Autumn (October–November) and spring (February–March) are the most flight-stable windows.