DHAKA ZHIA INT'L AIRPORT  Passenger Reviews and Traveller Reports

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DHAKA ZIA INTL AIRPORT review : 23 January 2010 by I Chowdhury

Customer Rating :  1/5

This is by a long way the worst airport I have been in. On entering it is utter chaos, with touts sprinting behind your car so as to grab your luggage when you stop. It takes a raised voice to get them to go away usually. Some even pretend to be from your airline and say it is part of the service. They will then demand money when they have taken your bags in. The security is pretty woeful. The very old scanning machine is manned by totally disinterested looking staff who, to be frank, do not look like they know what they are looking for. It is also quite easy to walk around the metal detector when staff are not looking. Check in is ok. But there is a complete lack of information if your flight is delayed. Immigration is quite a slow process, as often there machines break down and details have to be hand written. The shops and restaurant facilities are absolutely miserable. The duty free guys will try to rip you off, especially if you try to pay Taka and not USD. The Sheraton bar upstairs is a bit more peaceful but hardly fantastic. Boarding the flight is chaos. As soon as there is a hint that boarding may begin there is a stampede to get to the front of the queue. I feel like reminding people that seats are allocated by ticket, this is not a Dhaka bus! Arriving I feel is even worse. The immigration officers are slow. There is no machine readable passport system so everything is written down, at a glacial speed. Friends who have asked for visa on arrival have been taken away to interview rooms and a bribe has been directly demanded. The luggage wait can be beyond belief. I have waited for well over an hour on occasions with no explanation of where the cases have been. Cases are also routinely tampered with. And as for exiting the airport and looking for a taxi- scary!

DHAKA ZIA INTL AIRPORT review : 21 August 2009 : by S Bashar

Customer Rating :  3/5

Just traveled in and out of Zia International Airport on international trip. It has improved since my last visit 4+ years ago. There's a "health desk" at the arrivals hall manned by health professionals but does not seem to serve any purpose; no one at the immigration desks that follow ask about the form. Although there are separate immigration counters for Bangladesh Passport Holders, Non-Resident Bangladeshis, nationals of other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Foreigners, in effect there are only two gateways: foreign passport holders and Bangladesh passport holders. The arrivals hall is all very civilized but the time it takes for the luggage carousels to start delivering checked luggage varies: it's quicker for day-time arrivals and dreadfully slow during the post mid- night hours. Departure check-in varies airline to airline; it's a lot quicker if you checked in online via the web. Departure immigration is no non-sense, friendly and professional. There are two smoking rooms at either ends of the terminal on the air-side on the departure level. There are a few duty free shops selling both Bangladeshi export quality products such as leather bags, cases, shoes etc., as well as stores selling run of the mill duty free stuff (cigarettes, perfumes). There are not many public phone booths that are working as most people use cellphones. Not the most interesting place on the face of the earth but there are worse places to be stuck in that part of the world.

DHAKA ZIA INTL AIRPORT review : 10 June 2009 : by R Brook

Customer Rating :  3/5

Arrival - immigration reasonably efficient with average queuing time (10 - 15 minutes for an Airbus 330 load). Baggage return slow - about 30 minutes. Taxi area outside the terminal is chaotic; lots of taxi touts. They need to sort that out. Thankfully we were being met. Departure is good. Drop off is no problem. X-ray screening of all bags is done upon entry to the terminal and hand baggage again at the gate. I can imagine huge queues at peak time, but we avoided that. We were early for our Qatar Airways check in so did not experience any queues. Once through Immigration (very quick, no waiting), there is free internet (4 terminals, 30 minutes limit) and up the stairs there's a small cafe with reasonably priced (by airport standards) food (limited range, Bangladeshi food only), if you don't mind the sales pitch to buy local confections! We paid in Taka, so no idea if they take foreign currency. Duty free shops are cheap & OK and accept foreign currency. Seating is adequate. There isn't much else to do, so bring a good book. The terminal, including the toilets, is clean. We were there on what looked like quiet days, so can't advise on what it's like at peak times. Overall rather better than I expected

DHAKA ZIA INTL AIRPORT review : 6 April 2009 : by Dave Stanley

Customer Rating :  4/5

No problems with immigration or baggage delivery now. There is quite a good selection of shops/cafes in the departures area. If you are leaving on a large aircraft (Emirates), there are not enough seats in the gate area. So it is best to go to the gate early or late. There are some problems with mosquitoes in the airport, so it is best to wear long sleeved shirts.

DHAKA ZIA INTL AIRPORT review : 6 April 2009 : by Akther Miah

Customer Rating :  2/5

I have recently returned from Bangladesh to the UK and I think that overall Zia International has improved over the years but the actual facilities are still very limited in regard's to meeting the modern air travel standards. I think there should be more impetus on staff training and both in the smooth handling of the passengers and the overall customer service element. The shops and restaurants in the airport itself does not reflect the current trends in the modern Dhaka Metropolis as this is a shame as Zia International is used by many tourist on route to other destinations where the impact of the Airport can be used to market Bangladesh effectively.

DHAKA ZIA INTL AIRPORT review : 28 December 2008 : by Mark Bickerton

Customer Rating :  3/5

A few tips for Dhaka ZIA. If departing, there is a nice cafe on the first floor that few people know about. Alternatively, sit away from the gates near to passport control- there are lots of seats there and its quiet. On arriving, if you need transport, walk away from the terminal and jump into an auto rickshaw/baby taxi or get a taxi from the roundabout just outside the airport. I like this airport- people are friendly, many other passengers are curious about foreigners, and things seem to work well here

DHAKA ZIA INTL AIRPORT review : 7 October 2008 : by Shafqat Akanda

Customer Rating :  4/5

ZIA has improved - much bigger and cleaner now, including the restrooms. The effective space of the airport has doubled. Immigration, customs, check-in lobby, everything is much more spacious. Immigration officers are still learning their software, but they are courteous. The main trouble point is still the arrival curb and the taxi area. That place is still chaos and needs to be straightened out. Those who have cars waiting should not have any problem - but others will be at the mercy of the swindlers. Overall, the airport has come a long way - luggage unloading was really quick, took us less than 20 minutes to get out of the airport. The airport could use some restaurants and shops though.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by A Haque

19 November 2007   Customer Rating :

Dhaka s getting better. Passport control is a bit slow. Only a few shops and at arrival the duty free is very low stocks and doesn't take any credit cards. Baggage claim need to be improve and faster. A Taxi cab booth needs to be opened inside the terminal building so people don't get hassled by the cab drivers and middle men. Custom checks should be quicker and liberal for the long journey passengers. All other things are nice - friendly staff, clean, secured and quiet.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by M Rashid

19 October 2007   Customer Rating :

Departure from Dhaka airport is much better than the arrival. However, the arrival also on the side of OK. The main problem in arrival is to get a transport after exiting the terminal. Full of taxi agents and chaos. After renovation it is nice, clean, modern and most importantly very spacious. Although the airside facilities are limited only into a small duty free shops and couple of restaurants, its ok these days as you dont have to wait a long time as there is almost no transit passenger.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Mark Bickerton

15 July 2007   Customer Rating :

Check-in is usually a bit busy but everyone is polite and it works OK. Immigration queues are longer for Bangladeshis than foreigners as there are generally many more Bangladeshis. Once through, there is a lovely Sheraton cafe on the first floor which everyone can access but its always very quiet and relaxing, compared to the pretty tacky cafe on the ground floor. No real shops to speak of, but to be honest thats a refreshing change these days. Arrivals - if you are at the back of the plane, the queue at immigration will be long by the time you get there. If flying to Dhaka try to get a seat near the front of economy, so you can get to the immigration before the crowds. Everyone is very friendly, and the hall is spacious. Baggage is sometimes slow, and exiting the airport can be a bit daunting.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Dave Stanley

17 May 2007   Customer Rating :

I found the airport to be reasonable. Immigration was a bit slow on the way in. No other problems though. On the way out, there are a limited number of shops/restaurants. The airport is quite modern and clean. Even the toilets are OK. The domestic terminal is quite small, but again not too bad.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Riaz Osmani

6 March 2005   Customer Rating : n/a

Departure facilities are excellent. Ground staff of the airline you are flying will largely determine your experience. They are usually quite good in Dhaka. Arrival facilities are a mixed bag. Immigration signs are large and clear upon disembarking your aircraft. Passport Control slow but functioning. Nothing to worry about. Baggage handling a bit messy. Conveyor belts are on two sides of passport control. I went back and forth between the two since they kept changing their minds about where to dump our luggage. Eventually they settled on one belt. Note: Bags can arrive on a belt adjacent to the one they mentioned on the board. Also the new conveyor belts are a little narrow meaning your suitcases have a hard time staying on them. Look around a bit if you cannot find your bags. If you are arriving from Europe or North America, you may be asked to jump the queue and exit the terminal ahead of those arriving from the Middle East who are subject to rigorous customs checking. Arriving in Dhaka would be a more pleasant experience if baggage handling was more disciplined. It must be mentioned that people who have travelled to Dhaka over the last few years will definitely appreciate that things are however much better that they used to be.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Mazharul Bhuiyan

28 April 2004

More qualified & smart people should work at the immigration. Most of them do not know about transit visas, tourist visas and rules followed by other major countries. I always find them asking to their so called seniors, for advise. The parking area has become a taxi stand for the unmarked microbuses. There should be specific number of airport taxis and no authorized help person at the arrival hall otherwise the re-entry is horrible. This country will take long time to rise if the airport is not found friendly and comfortable by the foreign visitors/investors.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Wasim Choudhury

27 March 2004

Zia Airport - though improved, still needs a lot of help. While the airport has new boarding gates, and the arrivals now boast new luggage belts, the appearance of the airport is still cute unclean and the layout leaves a lot to desire for. On arrival, why do passengers have to go through such long series of stairs to the immigration area? I noticed some elderly folks with large carry on pieces struggling to walk down those stairs. In the arrivals hall, immigration processing is way too slow. Under a new directive, all information is keyed in computers to a database while a passenger enters and exits the country. Unfortunately, this takes an incredible amount of time to enter all the info. I don't know why the process cannot be streamlined by scanning the passport info into a database and the keying in done at some other location at a later time. The customs area is working in better condition, and I am very glad for it. The area where passengers take cars from the arrivals area is still chaotic, although blocking general public access is a good idea. They still need to filter out taxi/porter and agents from this area. The departure immigration procedure is equally painful. I nearly missed my flight waiting for the line to move. It took 40 minutes for the 6 passengers in front of me to clear immigration. Boarding gates are ok, but can they not put news on the tv in waiting areas rather than music tv? I guess that is partly due to the taste of the passengers so I can't complain much. As for the domestic terminal, it runs a lot better than the international one. Check is for the two airlines is neat and easy. The terminal lounge is clean. The arrivals area is now graced with a luggage belt, so it is definitely more efficient.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Riaz Osmani

28 September 2003

Improvement within a span of a couple of years. Hopefully more to come. It's no Singapore or Dubai, but it's no Mumbai or Calcutta either. Small, efficient and tidy for the most part. Transit passengers may be bored during long breaks. Not a lot to do. Next improvement must involve changing of several security personnel who ruin the day by their misguided pride in their work. First time foreigners with no one to meet may still be perplexed at the chaos once outside the neat terminal.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Asif Chaudhury

15 September 2003

ZIA has gone through extensive renovations and has become an excellent airport. The new departure terminal is very comfortable. The new VIP Lounge for business and first class passengers is excellent. Impressive!

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Mamun Mahmud

11 September 2003

I have flown 8 outbound and 7 inbound international flights through ZIA in last seven years. The airport checking-in and immigration layouts have been remarkably improved during last two years. The departure portion is now comparable to most other international airports. The new parking structure attached to the main terminal is a great job done. The arrival portion is still messy specially outside the airport. Placing transparent glass between the baggage unloading people and the baggage claiming passengers has also reduced the baggage cutting (stealing) disasters. Thanks ZIA. We would like to see more continuous improvements.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Rezwar Harron

11 September 2003

Luggage handling for arriving passengers takes a very long time. One can also see the handlers tossing luggage on the conveyor belts, not a pretty site. A yellow cab booth should be opened somewhere inside the terminal building so people don't get hassled by the cab drivers and middle men.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Shadman Salem

17 August 2003

Zia Intl Airport have gone through some renovations lately to make it in to a functional, clean and comfortable airport for travelers. However one area where there's a lot of scope for improvement is the duty free shop. Going in to the duty shop at the Dhaka airport foreigners would definitely want to find stuff to take back home that represent Bangladesh. Currently there's very little in that shop that gives an essence of Bangladesh.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Nazrul Islam

15 July 2003

Why don't we see and real-time arrival/departures for ZIA international airport at Dhaka ? Does this airport consider itself a major airport ? It must link it's real-time flight arrival/departures to internet sites which would be very valuable contribution towards passenger satisfaction.

Dhaka Zia International Airport by Asif Chaudhury 

11 May 2003

Dhaka's Zia International Airport has improved a lot in the past few years. Even though it is not comparable to other major airports, Zia Intl. is in very good condition compared to airports in India & Pakistan and the rest of the region. The departure and arrival terminals are comfortable and well maintained.