DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  28 October 2009 by Tony Castanheira   (South Africa)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Travelling through Dubai Airport is in my opinion, one of the worst experiences of my life. Long aircraft taxi (10 mins+), followed by a long bus ride to the terminal from what feels like the other end of Dubai, long queues, extremely unfriendly and arrogant staff, and a "shopping mall" departure lounge, with too few chairs for passengers. My main gripe however, is with the security personnel. I have travelled through numerous airports with my laptop bag, including Dubai only the week before. On this occasion, I was stopped, because my laptop bag had a security cable lock packed in the bag. This was confiscated off me, because it was deemed to be dangerous. The security personnel left me feeling like a criminal, and wondering if I was going to be chucked into jail for this offence. I have travelled through a number of airports with the same device, and have never had it questioned as something that is prohibited onboard as hand luggage. I have also done an extensive search on the internet, and did not find one single site where this device has been flagged as prohibited. This is one airport, (and Emirates as the airline), that I will be avoiding at all costs from now on.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  28 October 2009 by Michael Davies   (UK)

Customer Rating :  5/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Terminal 1. Arriving from Doha on Qatar Airways at 21.00. Aircraft parked on a remote stand, bus took us right to the immigration centre - we didn't have to walk long distances. Immigration busy, about 20 desks open and maybe 10 people in each queue, but the process was relatively efficient - waited 10-15 minutes. By the time I arrived at luggage reclaim, by bag was there. Departure - at the airport at 04.30 for a 06.00 departure. Already checked in online, and no queue at Qatar desk. Formalities efficient and a long walk via travelators underground to the departure area. I used the duty free shop - typical choice and prices. I didn't use any other facilities at the airport so I cant comment. Plenty of places to sit and wait.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  8 October 2009 by J Harding   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

The new T3 is a huge disappoinment. Handling of transfer passengers (big business in DXB!) is awful - the design of the airport just doesn't work at all in this respect. Nowhere near enough toilets - queues even for the gents! Poor signage. Need to get from T3 to T1? Make sure you pack your gym kit. Long walk and not too many travelators to help you. Immigration staff are much slower compared with any other place I have visited. Why put these locals there when they are not prepared to work! Using Emirates , our aircraft was still parked miles away from the terminal for which we had to take a long bus journey to terminal. All glitz and glamour as is always the case with Dubai but no substance. First world on the surface, third world thinking underneath.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  6 October 2009 by F Pang   (Qatar)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

I transited at DXB twice over the last two months. Every time I was arriving on an Emirates flight and connecting to another carrier's flight (or opposite). The two biggest problems I experienced were a lack of a quick commuting transit system (like the mono rail at HK airport) which allowed me to cross different terminals quickly. Most of the transit desks were not operating and I needed to walk through all to see which one was available. On one occasion, I arrived 1.5 hr before my connecting flight was scheduled to depart, but the bus journey from parking bay to terminal took me 20min, then I had to clear security and walk from T3 to T1 for transit, which took me another 20 min. When I arrived at the transit desk at T1, check-in was close and I had to wait for the next flight (another 5 hr wait). This was not a pleasant experience.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  6 October 2009 by Sohail Saeed   (Pakistan)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Terminal 3 is a chaotic situation due to lack of signage and efficient staff at help desks. Usually help desk staff is disappearing. Situation gets even worse during short transit. A floor plan displayed various location may help passengers to locate themselves and fine their way to appropriate gates.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  29 September 2009 by Roger Lyon   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Agree with many previous comments. Before T3 was opened Emirates were promising that it would solve all the problems of overcrowding at T1. However, this has not proved correct. T3 has been poorly planned, particularly as far as facilities are concerned. Nowhere near enough toilets or seats provided, and the "open plan" Business lounge is awful and impersonal. If I had a long lay over, I would be sorely tempted to head back over to T1. It's also worth noting that EK flights are still regularly landing miles away from the terminal and passengers are still having to be bussed which is a real pain. Whoever was responsible for this hugely disappointing building should not be given similar responsibility again!

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  24 September 2009 by Radoslaw Rokita   (Belgium)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

We arrived from FRA, then connecting flight to KUL with Emirates (economy). In our opinion Terminal 3 is a mistake. I will be repeating myself with other reviewers. T3 is awfully overcrowded. Basic needs like sufficient number of clean toilets or seating places are not satisfied at all. You have to queue everywhere. We will avoid travelling with Emirates via Dubai at any price. I would recommend the same.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  17 September 2009 by C Dennington   (Australia)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Transiting from the UK back to Australia with Emirates, we taxied to a remote stand and were bussed into the terminal. Then escalators up two floors, down one floor and then up 3 floors seemed crazy to get into a very busy and packed shopping mall. Dubai Duty Free is no more value than any other duty free. Toilets were small, tight, overcrowded and disgracefully dirty. Adding to that a lack of seating anywhere near a non-open gate (perhaps 100 seats for an A380 departure). Air conditioning set on freezing did not help either. Not impressed.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  17 September 2009 by Tansu Gizem   (Turkey)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Terminal 3 is a new structure. The inbound passport control area is very big. I arrived from Istanbul at 12:40 am. There were 14 people in front of me at the waiting line at the inbound passport control. It took 50minutes to go through the passport. The passport police is extremely slow. On my way back from Cape Town I had to spend 7 hours for my connecting flight to Istanbul. I had to use the toilets 2 times. The toilets are very small, there is always a queue. The mens toilets are also very badly used by passengers, floors are flooded by people who do know how to use the toilet sprays. I prefer not to use this airport again.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  17 September 2009 by D Wright   (USA)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Terminal 1. On arrival there was a long, long walk to passport control and customs, both of which were efficient. On departure, check-in was efficient, with no lines, as was passport control and security. DCA lounge was bland, with limited food and drink selections, but was quiet. Duty-free was disappointing, with limited selections.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  9 September 2009 by Kostas Sapountzis   (Greece)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

I am also dissatisfied with the new T3 terminal. My main problem was the low temperatures of air-conditioning. It was in August and you had to wear a lot of clothes to hold it. I noticed that most passengers had the same problem and specially if you are on a transit flight and you are unprepared this can be a nightmare. Restaurant services in the airport are minimum and the toilets limited.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  8 September 2009 by F Dellera   (Italy)

Customer Rating :  3/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Terminal 3, too many gates and shops in the same place, while other areas are so empty that seem completely devoid of life. I had a 14 hour transit and be sure that I spent almost all of them at the old Terminal 1.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  31 August 2009 by D Caudwell   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Just like the rest of Dubai, the new airport seems to be all smoke and mirrors. Having to be bussed to a brand new terminal, one of the biggest in the world, seems unacceptable. Once you're there, the designers of the airport seemed to have forgotten just how much of the traffic comes through the terminal is in transit. With multiple flights arriving at once, the lines having to go through security again were too long at 5am and the security area too crowded with passengers. The area devoted to this is far too small and the problem seems to have persisted from the old terminal. Shame. Once that ordeal is over you're left to navigate through a glorified shopping mall. There isn't a huge amount of choice when it comes to places to eat, even the men have long lines to get into the cramped toilets and there aren't a huge amount of places to find flight information. Overall, a disappointing experience and an opportunity missed on the part of the designers who built an airport that fails to address many of the issues that the old terminal had.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  15 August 2009 by Helmut Nadlinger   (Austria)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Though a seasoned traveller Dubai Airport managed to fool me for more than one hour before I finally found my gate and transfer counter. After 20 minutes of bus transfer from the plane with many stops and waiting in between I saw the first Transfer sign at the security check - and that was it. Only signs To Gates - but just arrived and without any monitor to learn which gate I had to go to I finally inquired from an information desk - and was promptly sent again to security check downstairs and from another official back upstairs again. To shorten the whole mess: an impressive building yet poorly installed and missing information signs, too few transfer counters for that huge area, staff that seem to know nothing, travellers sleeping on the floor at terminal 1 - to me Dubai airport is a shallow, sparkling shopping mall of third class.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  27 July 2009 by A Walker   (UK)

Customer Rating :  1/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

I wasn't that impressed with the wonderful new Terminal 3. They really do appear to have given more space to shops (which were a bit rubbish) than to basic facilities (seats and toilets!). I must admit I have never seen such long queues for men's toilets, I dread to think what the ladies were like!! Another gripe was the fact they put flights on remote stands. Now although irritating it's usually ok what is not ok is the fact that it had been sitting there in the baking heat of the Dubai sun and there was no way of cooling it down as it was that remote. The engines couldn't be started as they were still getting people on board via buses and it must have been over 40 degrees in the cabin. A very disappointing experience

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  20 July 2009 by N Sutherland   (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

I've transited through DXB every month for a little over a year. T3 has dramatically reduced the crowding in T1. There is plenty seating in T3 but you have to look for it. Security is neither efficient nor competent, but neither is it too time consuming. Rude, churlish staff - sure. I've never used the restaurants and Duty Free is not especially good value. Still a worrying amount of lengthy bussing to remote stands (15-20 minutes) going on - no idea why since there seem to be plenty empty stands. Don't plan to make a connection of less than 2 hours - you'll struggle. Info Screens, Signage, Acoustics, Air Conditioning, Design, Layout and General Ambience -l I think they just put it all into a blender and saw what popped out and it's not great - but it just about works.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  20 July 2009 by K Kruger   (South Africa)

Customer Rating :  4/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Went through Dubai terminal 3 a few times since the new year. Found the new Terminal quieter and more spacious than terminal 1. Shopping at the airport is about the same prices as in Dubai itself. One complaint, on my last trip in June there wasn't one store that sold the less expensive bottled water, you had to pay extra for the Evian water or something similar, a bit of a rip off.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  19 July 2009 by A Noujaim   (France)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Dubai's new terminal is very unsuccessful. The experience I have had lately only discouraged me to travel Emirates or even visit Dubai. When I landed from Kuala Lumpur (at 4am) to proceed to Paris, I was tired and couldn't even find one seat to rest before by connecting flight. As I sat in a cafe, the unprofessional waiters said to order something or leave. The airport is like a Sunday Market with very unfriendly, unprofessional and impolite staff. The terminal is so huge that it took me a very long time to walk to my gate just to find that the gate number had been changed. The lady by the Info desk didn't have a clue and the screen failed to upload the new gate number.

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT review :  16 July 2009 by D McConville   (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Hellish from the second we landed. I was flying Emirates and they keep boasting about the new hub from Terminal 3. Plane landed in Terminal 1, despite saying all flights operate out of terminal 3, had to hike to Terminal 3. It's easily a good 20 minutes worth of walking, trust me - a lot further than you might expect. Security rubbish, no one knew what they were doing. It was a mess, no one knew if they had to take off their jackets and stuff. The escalators up, you are risen into shopping mall hell. First time, especially after a long flight, you will be disorientated and shell shocked. Confused that you are no longer in an airport but the world's biggest shopping mall. They have a screen that shows you all the flights but when it's two 100 in screen LCDs and you're right in front of it, it makes no difference. If you need the bathroom you should walk back to Terminal 1, where it's cleaner, nicer, less crowded and generally a better airport.