Dar Es Salaam Airport

I came in on a KQ (Kenya Air) flight from Ghana and immigration was a breeze. Immigration officials were pleasant and fast. I didn't have check in bags but as I waited for my colleague who did need a visa I could see that the bags arrival was quite orderly. Outside had the usual cab drivers trying to make a living by offering you a ride - is that such a big deal? I will add another review after I leave today - but we were able to check in online nicely!

This is the worst airport I've been to. Very unpleasant staff. They don't understand French in customs so they couldn't figure out my passport's expiration date. Very chaotic and disorganised especially during check-in.

Chaotic check in very slow immigration. Sub standard business lounge. Allow a lot more time to get through the process than you would take at a normal airport.

Very poor airport. Very long waiting time to come into terminal building. Hot temperature outside and even inside. Not very clean airport. Staff very inexperienced.

Terminal feels like it was built in the 1960s and is stuck in a time warp. Very small and a bit cramped with some (expensive) shops airside and some cafeterias. Dimly lit inside and air conditioning is not optimal so on hot days it can get quite uncomfortable. Waiting area is alright but not comfortable. No WiFi in the airport; not even in the lounge. Staff at check-in can be surly and waiting times at security and check-in ridiculously long with everything done manually. Immigration and visa staff actually nice and fairly efficient; no complaints there.

The service quality from security guards and the staff is probably the worst you can possibly get. The waiting area is uncomfortable not enough seating with awful toilets. All in all a lousy airport.

Another horrible airport. We arrived on a South African Airways flight from Johannesburg in the afternoon. We were funnelled into immigration and customs area which has no air conditioning in this hot and humid city. Foreigners gathered around the glass booths where officials came out took your passport and visa payment then disappeared inside. The process took about an hour meanwhile our luggage had been taken off the conveyer belt and put aside unguarded in a hallway. When you exit the terminal you are hounded by taxi drivers asking outrageous prices. When we arrived to fly out our Precision Air flight had broken down in Zanzibar and was delayed. However they gave few details on when it was expected to resume. It was a very uncaring attitude by the check-in staff. We were delayed 3 hours and were caught off guard by the sudden (and muffled) announcement that it was now boarding. The departure lounge has some stores but they are limited. The airport is small with few facilities.

'Simplicity' is the word to describe Dar es Salaam International Airport. The terminal itself is very basic and rudimentary. But it does have most facilities that an international airport needs. There are 'duty free shops' that sell souvenirs T-shirts electric's and cosmetics. There are restaurants that sell 'western' cuisine and soft drinks but they are overpriced. Toilets were ok not clean but not too unhygienic. Ground service was rather slow but immigration process was swift both in and out. But the airport is a bit disorganized. No A/C before the security but there is after. Don't expect wi-fi service.

I travelled to Dar for the weekend in April and found the airport much smaller that I expected. Nevertheless it is fairly clean and design allows for natural airflows - important in Dar. Arrival relatively painless although the baggage conveyor belt doesn't work so instead there are airport officials asking which flight you were in and directing you to the bags. Departure was a different thing altogether. I needed to purchase a ticket but lo and behold there wasn't a single ticketing office (airline offices and agents included) that accepted any kind of cards whatsoever. So the trick is to withdraw cash at ATM. There are three ATMs and everyone at the airport was quite sure they don't work. I approached all 3 to confirm for myself but was waved away by staff and security as well as shop attendants who were quite sure they do not work. Mercifully a taxi man offered to take me to the nearest one that may be working outside the airport for free - an offer I accepted. Having bought the ticket I chose to sit at the airport - there is sitting outside the building in a kind of pavilion which is good for the heat but the seats are hard. There was no wifi so I elected to visit the only cyber cafe at the airport which had ok speeds but charged in blocks of half an hour. As I was sending emails and waiting for replies I found that method rather inconvenient. There is only one restaurant at the top with fairly good meals which I sampled whist still waiting for the flight. After checking in I proceeded to the gate I was shown waiting to board. When the boarding call was made I proceeded towards the gate but the airport staff denied be entry via that gate suggesting it was for a different flight. I was referred to other staff who referred me to the same gate and told me to wait there. We did this back and forth for a while - with me showing ticket indicating I was at the correct gate. In the end the same staff started announcing my name for final boarding call. I told them I was the one and they seemed surprised. Fortunately airline staff happened by and intervened allowing me to gain entry via the exact same gate. I raised the matter with the airline staff who didn't seem surprised at all by the escapade. I almost missed the flight over something so simple. I felt the airport staff should have been a bit more attentive and methodical in their handling of the situation.

Needed to change airlines and reclaim and recheck luggage here en route to Nampula Mozambique. It was not at all clear which to do first. Consequently we got on the flight to Nampula on LAM but our luggage did not. Other passengers told us that this happens "most of the time" on this flight. The problems with baggage appear to originate in the Dar es Salaam terminal. Had it not been for some friendly and helpful staff we might not have gotten through at all.