DigiYatra and a compact hall help; one runway plus festival banks still need real buffers.

DigiYatra can shrink domestic entry / CISF / boarding for enrolled Indian nationals when e-gates and face pods are staffed (first-wave launch 1 Dec 2022 with DEL and BLR; AAI / Zee News). VNS remains a single-runway field with IndiGo-heavy banks, winter fog risk on the Gangetic plain, and sharp pilgrimage / festival peaks (Dev Deepavali, Kartik, major temple calendar days) — domestic ~2 hours early is the sane default, longer when the city is in festival mode. Take Off Bar and Lounge’s Priority Pass window publishes 05:00–21:00 — useless for a red-eye that only goes airside after 21:00, so do not bank a “lounge dinner” you cannot eat.

Single passenger hall today; CGIs are not boarding gates.

Screenshot VNS ≠ LKO ≠ AYJ ≠ GOP ≠ DBR before the car leaves Cantonment / Lanka / Sigra. All scheduled passengers still clear the live integrated terminal; the Oct 2024–founded new terminal / runway-extension package reviewed again in mid-2026 is construction traffic, not a sterile walk to a second check-in campus. Live Priority Pass pin: Take Off Bar and Lounge after domestic security near Gate 2 (airside restaurant programme). Follow boarding-pass / FIDS / domestic vs international CIQ signs, not a dual-terminal blog map drawn from the CGI.

One live PP restaurant pin; landside bottles still beat airside pricing.

Live Priority Pass product is Take Off Bar and Lounge (domestic airside near Gate 2; 05:00–21:00) — a buffet-spread restaurant entitlement, not a classic soft lounge. Soft drinks and à la carte are listed as extra on PP conditions; the restaurant may refuse when full. Without entitlement, buy sealed water and snacks landside before CISF; airside F&B depth is thin versus Lucknow or Delhi and markup is the usual Indian-airport tax. Ignore aggregator Plaza Premium inventions — live PP directory = Take Off only.

Longish road hop into Kashi; metro is not at the kerb.

Use official prepaid taxi counters in arrivals or signed Ola / Uber pickup for the Babatpur run into the city / ghats / Sarnath (often ~45–75 minutes; confirm the board / app quote). Old-city lanes and festival barricades can force a final walk or e-rickshaw handoff — taxis do not always reach the exact ghat gate. Cantonment / Varanasi Junction and DDU Junction are separate road transfers. Late nights default to prepaid / app cabs. Do not invent an in-terminal metro platform.

DigiYatra and a compact hall help; one runway plus festival banks still need real buffers.

DigiYatra can shrink domestic entry / CISF / boarding for enrolled Indian nationals when e-gates and face pods are staffed (first-wave launch 1 Dec 2022 with DEL and BLR; AAI / Zee News). VNS remains a single-runway field with IndiGo-heavy banks, winter fog risk on the Gangetic plain, and sharp pilgrimage / festival peaks (Dev Deepavali, Kartik, major temple calendar days) — domestic ~2 hours early is the sane default, longer when the city is in festival mode. Take Off Bar and Lounge’s Priority Pass window publishes 05:00–21:00 — useless for a red-eye that only goes airside after 21:00, so do not bank a “lounge dinner” you cannot eat.

Single passenger hall today; CGIs are not boarding gates.

Screenshot VNS ≠ LKO ≠ AYJ ≠ GOP ≠ DBR before the car leaves Cantonment / Lanka / Sigra. All scheduled passengers still clear the live integrated terminal; the Oct 2024–founded new terminal / runway-extension package reviewed again in mid-2026 is construction traffic, not a sterile walk to a second check-in campus. Live Priority Pass pin: Take Off Bar and Lounge after domestic security near Gate 2 (airside restaurant programme). Follow boarding-pass / FIDS / domestic vs international CIQ signs, not a dual-terminal blog map drawn from the CGI.

One live PP restaurant pin; landside bottles still beat airside pricing.

Live Priority Pass product is Take Off Bar and Lounge (domestic airside near Gate 2; 05:00–21:00) — a buffet-spread restaurant entitlement, not a classic soft lounge. Soft drinks and à la carte are listed as extra on PP conditions; the restaurant may refuse when full. Without entitlement, buy sealed water and snacks landside before CISF; airside F&B depth is thin versus Lucknow or Delhi and markup is the usual Indian-airport tax. Ignore aggregator Plaza Premium inventions — live PP directory = Take Off only.

Longish road hop into Kashi; metro is not at the kerb.

Use official prepaid taxi counters in arrivals or signed Ola / Uber pickup for the Babatpur run into the city / ghats / Sarnath (often ~45–75 minutes; confirm the board / app quote). Old-city lanes and festival barricades can force a final walk or e-rickshaw handoff — taxis do not always reach the exact ghat gate. Cantonment / Varanasi Junction and DDU Junction are separate road transfers. Late nights default to prepaid / app cabs. Do not invent an in-terminal metro platform.