DRW - DARWIN AIRPORT reviews

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Darwin Airport by Steven Parish

8 April 2008   Customer Rating :

Darwin airport might be fine for domestic flights but is not up to scratch as an international airport. With more Tiger and Jetstar flights to Asia via Darwin, this airport needs to lift its game. It took nearly an hour to get through immigration and customs on my flight from Singapore, which was only 60% full. Only three immigration officers on duty - one queue for all nationalities - while two customs officers eyeing the stationary queue for drug mules. These officers then searched every second bag (welcome to Australia!) before we got into the small and uninspiring terminal where check-in queues can be horrendous.

Darwin Airport by P Taylor

28 February 2008   Customer Rating :

If you want slow immigration clearances and unfriendly staff on arrival Darwin is your port of choice. Most flights arrive into Darwin in the early hours of the morning. Staff is always short. And everyone is given the third degree and queuing is not segregated. So if your an Australian behind a family of 5 overseas visitors expect to sit waiting for them while visas, travel arrangements and passports are examined in every minute detail even though most residents arriving are a quick once over. I choose to fly into any other airport in Australia if returning from international destinations. The last flight I returned from overseas was a Tiger flight from Singapore. It was full and 90min late. Approximately 30% of the flight were late for a connecting Melbourne flight which was awaiting them. All these 30% were poorly directed to just 1 immigration staff, while 1 experienced and 2 trainees looked after the rest of the flight. Most of the transit customers lined up in the normal queue and were returned to the back of the transit queue once they reached the front as there were only a few staff giving verbal directions to arriving customers. In addition the International arrival and departure areas are small. Its not uncommon for arriving queues to snake back through the airbridges. It looks as if the international terminal was added as an afterthought. The only thing Darwin Airport has going for it is free and ready access to smoking areas in departure lounges.

Darwin Airport by Trevor Hoad

17 January 2008   Customer Rating :

Compared to other airports its very small but pleasant with limited shops and dinning options. Very quick check-in and cleared security in record time. Had to walk out through a sheltered walkway to board the flight to Perth.

Darwin Airport by J Buche

24 December 2007   Customer Rating :

Regrettably domestic doesn't have much in the way of seating for waiting passengers whose check-in desks have not opened as access to shops and departure lounges is through security with only a small cafe on the ground floor. The airport needs to invest in some waiting area seats, provide some more vending machines, entertainment facilities and more ground floor shops.

Darwin Airport by Christian Hodson

5 July 2005   Customer Rating : n/a

I have made frequent visits to Australia both for business and pleasure over the last ten years, although in April I made my first visit to Darwin. I arrived domestically on a Qantas flight from Adelaide and there were no complaints - hardly any distance to walk from the arrival gate and relatively quick baggage delivery. My international departure to Singapore, however, a few days later was a different story. Check-in takes place for all flights, domestic and international, in a very small terminal area. There were two check-in staff servicing a fairly full A330-300 aircraft and although we arrived a good 2 hours prior to departure we had to queue practically outside the terminal building and by the time we arrived at the desk we had about twenty minutes to get through immigration and security. As a result the flight had to be delayed. Qantas international departures use gate 6 I think at Darwin - three immigration officers were on duty for the whole flight which I find to be completely unacceptable. The gate area contains one duty free shop / cafe and has seating for about 80 people at best - I can imagine a huge delay here to be purgatory. The upside of the airport is that it is only 5-10 minutes from the city centre by car and would probably have to rate as one of the best landings into an airport in the world for scenery, but they need to get one or two things sorted, particularly the international flight departures, before it can be regarded as being a great gateway to a fantastic Australian city.

Darwin Airport by Xuess Wee

18 July 2003

The airport is rather small compared to its other Australian siblings, then again it only served a handful of International Airlines (mainly Garuda, Continental & Qantas). Only 5-10 minutes from the Esplanade of Darwin via Airport Shuttle Bus - it's practically built on the edge of the city. Checking-in and clearing customs are done efficiently with minimal fuss. I was in the Domestic Terminal and it does have 1 thing that strikes me most - 3 large electrifying photos of lightning decked the walls of the waiting hall, leaving a strong impression.

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