DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 12 February 2009 : by R Liddle

Customer Rating :  4/5

Transtted Dubai recently outbound and also left the airport on the inbound journey. We arrived at around 11pm, which is a busy time and were through security in about 5 minutes. On the inbound journey immigraiton officer was a charming guy. From landing to baggage reclaim took 10 minutes and our bags arrived quicker that we did. There were not a massive number of seats but no-one was standing. There are not enough toilets in duty free area but there were of clean ones at the gates.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 2 February 2009 : by J Wouwout

Customer Rating :  2/5

I agree with M Baughman, T3 is such a missed opportunity. Narrow, overcrowded with silly shops and outlets. Why hire the architect who designed CDG, which is an annoying airport to use? 3 out of 4 flight were parked on a remote stand, however I could see so many gates available. They mention the new 'dedicated T3' just after you've landed and then find yourself on a remote stand.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 2 February 2009 : by N Sutherland

Customer Rating :  3/5

Transited through DXB a few times in the past year. Maybe I've been lucky and not had the Transit Security problems, in T1 and T3, of some of the other posts. The Security is neither professional nor efficient but neither was it too time consuming between say 4 and 8 in the morning. T3 has taken some of the pressure off seating areas, toilets etc, but the Departures Areas could never be considered comfortable or well appointed and the dreadful acoustics in T3 make the place feel more like a factory rather than an Airport. Duty Free shopping is fairly extensive but not especially good on choice. Electronics and Cameras are much cheaper in London. They're still bussing passengers to/from remote stands adding significantly onto Transit Time. Certainly you could not reliably make a connection of less than 2 hours. I was fairly unimpressed the first time I saw T1 and I was hoping things would improve with the opening of T3 - well they have, but not by much. The best part of DXB is it's location - a good spot to break a long-haul flight from Europe to SE Asia or the Far East, and that's about it.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 24 January 2009 : by K Tunnicliffe

Customer Rating :  2/5

What a great opportunity missed. After the squalor of the old terminal Emirates move to their new premises in T3. Open, airy, no need to climb over rows of sleeping bodies to get to the gate. The only snag is that when you are a transit passenger you have to queue in an extremely badly designed hall to get through security. There are only four screening points and on both occasions we transited recently only two or three were working. Organisation here is like the old terminal - shoddy and staff are spending their time chatting rather than dealing with the problems. Shame Emirates, you have got so much else right here but let down by a really poor transit system.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 13 January 2009 : by Justin Adams

Customer Rating :  3/5

Dubai Airport Terminal 3 - lack of seating, not enough restaurant, cafe etc for just having a cup of coffee to relax before flight. Not enough toilet facilities, and the toilets are absolutely filthy. Lots of shopping but overpriced.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 9 January 2009 : by M Handley

Customer Rating :  2/5

T3 - what is this airport about? for such a new airport it certainly is a bit of a shambles. Transit takes forever to get to where you need to go, security always has queues that cant be cleared quick enough. Shops are annoying, no nice passenger areas really (unlike Singapore) - it just all seems a bit stale and old, theres no nice comfy places to sit and watch a bit of tv whilst waiting for your flight or anything that really makes you like the place. Overcrowded and has all the signs that it hasn't been planned out properly at all.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 31 December 2008 : by D Lee

Customer Rating :  2/5

Emirates new terminal - Security Clearance at the First Floor was annoying to say the least with little crowd control by officials. Transit area no better, full of duty free shops and lack of places for transit passengers, in particular Economy Class customers, to have any other activities other than shopping. Toilets seem to be falling apart. I wanted to take a shower after a night flight and found that both shower rooms in the terminal were out of action! Frustratingly there is nothing much to do except sit around and wait for your flight and if you can imagine how annoying a 3 hour transit already is then you'd probably not be able to take the transit experience here if time between your flights is longer than that. I give this Terminal a thumbs down and hope there's some massive improvement because it's a neatly designed terminal except that some people didn't seem to put much thought into facilities and passenger flow. And would you believe it: it opened in October 2008.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 28 December 2008 : by P Deen

Customer Rating :  1/5

Recently opened terminal 3 is just as bad as terminal 1, They have some fancy lighting and re- arranged shops thats it, the bad service and facilities are the same. I have been going to Dubai since 1981 and the bus trip from aircraft to terminal still going on and they keep announcing that it is necessary as the airport is expanding to provide a better facility. T3 is open now with many empty gates and why are they still bussing. It took 90 mins from out of aircraft to pass the security as there was a huge queue and still find people sleeping on the floor. By the time you clear the security and walked to the Business class lounge, no time left to relax, and when you try to relax they annoy you with making announcements every 30 seconds. Dubai duty free - forget it, it is so expensive. I dont know if the airport management care to read this website or tour the terminal while it is busy to see what the passengers have to go through. All I can say about Dubai airport is 1st world facility but 3rd world mentality. I will avoid Dubai airport at all cost.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 15 December 2008 : by Hans Gross

Customer Rating :  3/5

Arrived both in and outbound at around 6 am. The one transfer by bus was a bit clumsy and the bus had no seats. The only real annoyance was having to wait in a longer queue for the security controls. Terminal 3 now offers enough space and seats. However the central walkway seems to be designed according to a souk and is a bit overcrowded.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 13 December 2008 : by Natasha Permall

Customer Rating :  3/5

We enjoyed the terminal 3 in the limited time we had available before our connecting flight. Getting through was quick. It was spacious, with good options for food and duty free. We were looking forward to shopping more on our return flight. However, despite our plane landing in dubai on time, the length of time it took to get from the remote parking gate to the terminal combined with the scrum to get through security meant we only had time to brush our teeth and grab a bottle of water before having to go to the next gate. I was surprised to see such queues getting through security as it had been so quick outbound. It should be noted also that considering the size of the terminal, the space for the security check was tiny which meant the queues stretched down the stairs and escalators. I was under the impression the new terminal 3 was meant to eliminate the use of remote parking gates, and long security queues - yet at peak times, it seems its just as bad as the old terminal. Cconsidering that a huge part of Emirates business plan revolves around passengers being able to enjoy the facilities at Dubai airport in transit, it is essential that they reduce the time wasted on things such as the bus ride to the terminal. Until they sort this out, Dubai will always be hampered as a transit airport.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 10 December 2008 : by Jorg Meyer-Stamer

Customer Rating :  2/5

Just arrived at Terminal 3. Sunday morning, peak hour of arrivals of Emirates flights. Signage guides all passengers to a single security check which was so packed that passengers battled to get off the escalator. No crowd management at all, which is ironic since there is indeed another security checkpoint where I was the only passenger. There's no signage that guides passengers there, though, and I had only discovered it accidentally at an earlier trip. Emirates Business Class lounge was fully occupied, but at least so far it is big enough so that nobody has to sit on the floor. Queues in front of the toilets - no improvement there. Free Internet access based on the principle you don't pay - you get no value: transfer speed is about the same as in rural areas in poor developing countries. The silliest part are the little socket towers to connect the charger - very fancy design, but only accept English-style plugs.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 30 November 2008 : by Robert Harder

Customer Rating :  1/5

As this is Emirates hub you have now choice but to go through. It is by far the worst airport I have been in - the immigration takes an age. We waited nearly an hour to get through, and then the walk to the next gate took forever. On our return we were prepared for the wait in immigration, but not the bus journey from the airplane to the terminal - this took 45 minutes. Coupled with the normal delays we had no time in the airport and had to run to our connecting flight - a long way to gate 119 in the old part, especially when you have to jump over sleeping bodies. Duty free is very expensive. Overall a very bad experience which would make me never fly Emirates again.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 30 November 2008 : by Fred Mack

Customer Rating :  3/5

Transit through DXB in November - arrived T3 departed T1. Returned with stopover in Dubai. T1 still fairly busy with pax sleeping on floor but Emirates lounge quiet and pleasant. T3 architecture impressive but no ambiance - signs are confusing in places - because it is so vast there is considerable distances to walk. Arrivals quiet both times with small queues. Departures, again small queues but long walk after check-in - signs poor. Shopping area bigger but no better than T1. Business lounge huge but extremely busy - took long time to find (uncomfortable) seats - just as bad as the old T1 lounges. Overall - T3 means more walking - is more confusing - but is not so crowded - with improved food outlets. Shame about the lounges!

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 21 November 2008 : by Derek O'Brien

Customer Rating :  2/5

Terminal 3 has potential but there are some serious issues to be sorted out. Transferred here from Heathrow to Seoul Incheon and on my first visit, I found Terminal 3 impressive if a little tacky. Security was swift if a little inattentive. The architecture is jaw dropping especially at the western end where it joins up with Terminal 1. A bit underwhelmed by the duty free, didn't see anything you couldn't buy in any department store anywhere in the world. The return journey was a disaster with the plane taxiing past many vacant airbridges and finally parking down at the Burj al Arab. Fairly strange route to the terminal with the bus driving all the way back up past Terminals 1 and 3, then doing a u-turn and disembarking us in the middle. The queue for transit security was horrendous, never saw anything like it. There were easily about 1000 people trying to make their connections. The queue stretched around a corner and back towards the escalators which resulted in many people stumbling and tripping. There was no crowd control at all, nobody to help or guide us. One vocal staff member was shouting at us to move which was ironic considering there was no room to move in the first place. Total time from landing until I passed security:75 minutes, unacceptable for such a vast facility and for one that has been open for over a month. We boarded the Heathrow flight at a remote stand which really irritated me due to the fact that there was plenty of free gate space and that the boarding gate was at one end of the terminal and the remote stand was at the other end. Maybe they'll get it right eventually but I'm going to think twice before I transit through Dubai again. I'm giving it one star for the flawless transit on the outbound journey and one star for myself and my bags making both connections. On a final note, as we boarded our flight, another 777 parked next to us. As we were pushing back almost an hour later, they were only then removing the luggage from the other 777. Inefficiency seems to be the order of the day at Dubai.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 11 November 2008 : by David Leman

Customer Rating :  3/5

I am sitting in the Emirates business class lounge in Dubai's new terminal. It is huge, in fact so huge I walked around for 10 minutes looking for a chair. So now I want a drink and a snack, but am too worried to leave my chair because the food areas are so far away if I leave my bag it might not be here when I get back and if I take my bag I will lose my seat. The new terminal looks great but business class lounge is poor. It's simply too big, lighting is so bright I feel under a spotlight, not relaxing but at least I wont fall asleep and miss my flight. What is odd is there is so much space and huge empty areas with no chairs and tables and lots of people looking for somewhere to sit, conceptually impressive but lost in the implementation, but that does sum up Dubai.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 21 October 2008 : by Elizabeth Crookston

Customer Rating :  2/5

This airport is huge and has recently opened a new terminal which i hope will improve things .On arrival the queues for immigration were the longest I have ever seen anywhere. We had a fast track and it still took almost 2 hours to get through , meanwhile the luggage from our flight had been dumped by the side of the luggage belt and we had to sift through it looking for our bags. On our return journey we had checked in online so only had to drop our bags off which saved time as check in queues were large as were security and passport control. The duty free is massive but also very busy and there were large numbers of people sleeping on the floor .Thankfully our flight left on time as I wouldn't want to spend anymore time in this airport than necessary

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 4 October 2008 : by M Preston

Customer Rating :  2/5

Dubai International Airport is Emirates Achille's heel. It is overcrowded, overpriced, smelly and smokey. Given the huge number of passengers it handles, it is remarkably efficient and the speed through security is impressive. Despite that, overall it is a poor experience, I only hope the new one will be better as this one is the victim of the success of its main airline user.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 26 September 2008 : by P Lawlor

Customer Rating :  1/5

What an awful airport - its that bad I was pleased to get back to T4 at London Heathrow. It does not matter what time you arrive or depart the place is heaving with people. In fact I describe it to be more akin to being in a refugee camp - people laying down everywhere long walks to get everywhere and a hugely overrated duty free that is over priced. Fortunately I was travelling business and was pleased to reach the BA Exec lounge and some haven from the hustle and bustle.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 22 September 2008 : by Neil Cameron

Customer Rating :  1/5

We were fortunate enough to be travelling business class through Dubai airport four times in late August and September. I say fortunate beings in Business class, because that is without doubt a disgrace of an airport for everybody else. On our first flight in we were on a bus for 20 minutes as it wandered around the edge of the airport. As it was the first bus and only for biz class it wasn't busy. But that's way too long to be on a bus. Then inside the airport there were hundreds of people lying down sleeping on the floor in the terminal. Absolutely terrible airport. The worst of all ten airports we visited this summer. The new terminal delay shows the lack of respect they have for customers there.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 18 September 2008 : by Shafqat Akanda

Customer Rating : 2/5

I passed through DXB four times in the last four weeks and my experience was BAD. Out of the eight landings and take-offs I had, the plane was parked in a remote space on five occasions, and the passengers were hauled away in buses, be it seniors or toddlers. Inside the concourse, few chairs were empty and people were lying almost everywhere and lines in front of phones, toilets and internet kiosks were long! The food shops were okay but the duty frees were overcrowded and overpriced. Construction of T3 still has a long way to go, while the new Emirates concourse seems to be progressing well. All in all, Dubai and Emirates have definitely bitten a lot more than it can chew, and passengers will have to pay for it until the infrastructure catches up.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 12 September 2008 : by L Hall

Customer Rating : 1/5

We recently had the misfortune to have to spend 10 hours in transit in Dubai airport. It's like a giant transit camp! There are so few seats that there are literally hundreds of people stretched out on the floor under blankets. There are supposed to be 2 "quiet" lounges; one of these was closed when we were there and the other was jam packed with travellers suffering from appalling body odour!! "Lounge" isn't quite correct as it's simply a square off the main concourse and as such is noisy with bright lights. The plastic seats are very uncomfortable. The toilet facilities are inadequate with long queues forming at both men and women's toilets in the early morning.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 12 September 2008 : by L Stirton

Customer Rating : 2/5

Had to stop over in Dubai Airport on my to/from Manila and London. What a shock! I agree with other people when they say that the toilets are filthy and there is nowhere to sit. My family of four ended up cramped between 2 seats. What's more is that our boarding gate was a long walk away from where we were sitting. Restaurants crowded and duty free full- struggled to get a meal at McDonald's. Also, they should really limit the amount of duty you can free you can buy, as some people are completely ridiculous.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 22 August 2008 : by J Roth

Customer Rating : 2/5

Two things which really keep this airport down are overcrowding and the dirty, filthy state of the toilets. I was in Dubai on a 10-hour stopover, flying Emirates. Emirates deposit you in this hellhole of an airport, which ruins the travel experience. Apart from it being dirty and overcrowded, there are some positives, such as free wifi - however, none of the 'free' electricity plugs which I tried actually worked. Toilets were dirty, and many were of the squat variety. There were people taking full-body washes in the washbasins during the night - which was disgusting. No toilet paper, urine on the floor. Emirati staff generally arrogant - the most pleasant and friendly staff were Filipinos working at the various coffee shops. Duty free overrated. Constant, annoying announcements which makes it hard to sleep.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 19 August 2008 : by J Fox

Customer Rating : 4/5

My experience was better than other travellers. Immigration was relatively quick and the area well signed. On departure I found all quite straightforward and no long queues despite being a busy time of day. I found the Duty Free Shopping over rated.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 2 July 2008 : by David Pryer

Customer Rating : 4/5

3 hour transit at Dubai from a Beijing to a Manchester flight leaving at 0755h. This is a very busy time for the airport but bus transfer and security check were prompt and there were apologies for the bussing. Inside the airport the best advice is to avoid all public and business lounges and head straight to the hotel's coffee shop - a haven of peace.

 

PAGE:   1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
If you experience any problems submitting comments on the above link, please use our general   Feedback Page