Dubai International Airport Passenger Reviews and Customer opinions

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.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 24 June 2008 : by B Murphy

Customer Rating : 2/5

Regular user of Dubai airport. Some positives: free wifi access at the airport, which is excellent; UAE Gate facility excellent for residents - however the facility often does not work. Some negatives - Duty free over-rated - very poor range of clothes shops for example. The worst aspect - recently left my car in the long-term car park for a week and had to pay 1060 AED! This is a complete rip-off!

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 17 June 2008 : by N Sutherland

Customer Rating : 2/5

Went through twice in May and June, transit Emirates both times. A lot of the problems have already been mentioned and are mostly geared around crowding and the lengthy bussing issues, which will hopefully be alleviated with the expansion of the terminal. I thought the Terminal Security checks were merely superficial and really just going through the motions. I thought the Duty Free Shopping was reasonable in both selection and price. Overall the Terminal was better than I had feared given some of these reports, but there is plenty scope for improvement and no way could you make a reliable connection of less than 2 hours.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 3 June 2008 : by Oliver Drissen

Customer Rating : 1/5

Arrived in Dubai at 6am on a very far away parking position. Transfer by bus to Terminal took 40min since we had to wait for ages before entering the terminal. As described before the airport is horribly overcrowded. Nowhere to sit and even to enter the wash rooms it was necessary to queue for 15min. Had to connect four times in the past year in Dubai and every time the experience was disgusting as described.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review : 29 April 2008 : by David Allan

Customer Rating : 1/5

Aside from the oft-mentioned overcrowding/refugee camp look of the terminal, with people sprawled all over the floors, overflowing lounges and F&B outlets, interminable walk from the aerobridge to arrivals (assuming you were lucky enough not be be parked at a (truly) remote bay and bussed to the terminal); the numerous rude and overly-demanding security checks (why is no other airport so strict?), an hour's wait to pass immigration (at 2.00am!!) was the cherry on the cake for me. Although I live 10 minutes' drive from DXB, I'll be using AUH even more often than I have been doing from now on - or at least until the new Terminal 3 opens.

Dubai Int'l Airport review by Oliver Broadhurst

23 April 2008   Customer Rating :

Makes Heathrow Look Good! We transferred with Emirates through Dubai en-route from Melbourne to Heathrow. Bus from plane to terminal, long wait to get off bus, long queues and chaos for re screeening. Rude and arrogant staff. People everywhere lying all over the place, didnt bother with the shops as too crowded. Will not fly Emirates again due to the Dubai experience - Changi in Singapore is much better. On the way over to Melbourne our bags missed the transfer in Dubai and had to be delivered the next day, also duty free from Heathrow was been confiscated. Dubai - Dont do it!

Dubai Int'l Airport review by G Lindley

16 April 2008   Customer Rating :

I will from now on avoid the national airline of Dubai simply because of the this airport. Nowhere to sit and relax unless you join the bodies strewn around on the floor and seats. Overpriced duty free and surly staff. I could go on, but suffice to say I will not be back. Overrated and overpriced.

Dubai Int'l Airport review by Michael Kinghorn

15 April 2008   Customer Rating :

I was horrified when I arrived a transit passenger back in March. After disembarking the flight from London, we had to be bussed to the terminal, which took around 10 minutes, before going through security checks. The seating situation was appalling - people were lying all over the place, wherever they could find a space. Shopping was adequate and there were the same shops here that you would find at any other airport. They were good on value as well. The cost of cigarettes and alcohol at Dubai was less than what it was in Bangkok. Parking at a remote stand for every flight made it feel like I was flying with a low cost airline. Having to go outdoors into the heat was not particularly pleasant. I have visited a number of airports in recent years; London LHR, Seoul ICN, Hong Kong HKG, Bangkok BKK, New York JFK, Los Angeles LAX etc and none of these were half as bad as Dubai.

Dubai Int'l Airport review by B Silverberg

15 April 2008   Customer Rating :

Check-in desks are fine, though you have to go through level 1 security even to get to them. Outbound customs took forever. From there to the gate was a pretty long distance, but golf carts chauffer people around easily. Shops were nice, and architecturally the airport is good. Remote gates are truly remote. Seating was fine, and even full chairs with ottomans were available in some places. In-bound, there's lots of walking between the gates and the old terminal as well. I had a fast-pass voucher for customs, so I don't know how long it would normally take. Overall, though, really no complaints for an international airport. (In comparison to JFK, for instance, the distances are longer, but the ATC and luggage claim seem better organized.)

Dubai Int'l Airport review by G Wyndham-Jones

15 April 2008   Customer Rating :

Arrived 1100, departed the next day 2300. Inbound, the aircraft parked on a pier: outbound, the aircraft was on a remote stand. I found the airport hassle-free, although the distance you have to walk (because you have to pass underneath the aircraft parking area to get to the main terminal) is somewhat far. On arrival, Immigration tends to be slow - I can understand that there could be queues if a number of flights arrive together. However, slow immigration = bags circling the carousel by the time you get there. Outside the terminal, area now less congested, and fairly easy to access taxis and hotel buses. Outbound busier, with the departures entrance area too small to accommodate the numbers of people both queuing and trying to push loaded trolleys in both directions, but still fairly relaxed once you have checked-in your bags, although the security checks are over-zealous (the guy in front of me was asked to remove belt, shoes, watch, money, mobile phone, and, finally, spectacles). Once in the main terminal, if you don't want to shop, get out of the central area of the building and head towards the end where your flight will depart from: there are lots of seats, and you don't have to wait at your gate: if you wait at a gate which is not taking flights, there are plenty of spare seats - you then head towards the gate for your flight about an hour before it is due to leave. Similarly for the washrooms: those in the central area are heavily used : go to the ends of the building, and washrooms are cleaner and less congested.

Dubai Int'l Airport review by Christophe Mage

11 April 2008   Customer Rating :

Went to DXB on transit to Maldives three times in two weeks. When arriving from Zürich the plane was not connected to the terminal and we drove a long time in the bus. Passing immigration in a huge hall with a big queue. Back a few days later at 1 pm - airport was crowded as you couldn't imagine with no chair even in restaurants. Check-in area was not bad and quite efficient. Trip back from Maldives to Zürich by DXB was ok, no delay in the airport.

Dubai Int'l Airport review by Mark Godbolt

1 April 2008   Customer Rating :

Chaos and Over hyped! There are always thousands of people asleep on the floor and chairs, with shoes and bags all over the place. Duty free shops below average, not a huge variety. The price of gold is not too bad. The toilets are a bit hit and miss, sometimes they are filthy and sometimes ok. If you land after 10.30pm do expect a wait to get through immigration. The immigration hall is packed out between 10.30pm and 1.30am. DXB makes Heathrow and Gatwick look 5 star. DXB could learn a lot from Changi and Schiphol, probably the best airports in Europe and Asia.

Dubai Int'l Airport review by Simon Smith

27 March 2008   Customer Rating :

Through Dubai on way to/from Jeddah. The whole place is bursting at the seams, long walks from the jetties (if you are lucky to get one), 1.5 hour delay in bags getting delivered, pretty average duty free with inflated prices, a severe shortage of seats and people sleeping all over the place. I would give it a wide berth.

Dubai Int'l Airport review by Tomas Degenaar

23 March 2008   Customer Rating :

This is a horrible airport. Bodies laying everywhere in every imaginable position. A huge terminal which is nothing more than a hollow façade and a true chaos in every aspect. Even the palm trees are fake. The shops are messy and without any grace.

Dubai Int'l Airport review by Kevin Tunnicliffe

4 March 2008   Customer Rating :

I have experienced this airport at its worst and today was lucky enough to see it at its best. Security tight, but moved quickly. Immigration when we flew in had been swift and efficient and the same operated on the way out. Staff were thorough but pleasant. There are two business class lounges at the airport and in the past I have experienced them at their worst, overcrowded and dirty. Today there was seating for all and staff attentive and food / beverage choice excellent. The main problem - a delay of an hour because of "congestion at the airport and in the air over Iran".

Dubai Int'l Airport review by Stuart Sage

2 March 2008   Customer Rating :

No problems other than what did appear to be extremely rigorous security checks - think I was checked at least 4 times before boarding my flight! Duty Free is overpriced and selection is pretty poor - I'm sure it used to be a great deal better than this but that was 14yrs ago when I last passed through Dubai. Arrival was fantastic - we were out of arrivals about 30 mins after landing (and that included a trip to the duty free to stock up on booze!).

Dubai Int'l Airport review by J Hassett

26 February 2008   Customer Rating :

I transited twice in February and no problems. First transit 0100-0300, next 1230-14:30. All flights by jetways from terminal. Airport staff polite and efficient. Toilets busy, but clean. Duty free shops overpriced, but nice to wander around. Plenty of seating at gate lounges. Maybe we struck lucky.