Dar Es Salaam Airport

Flew through at 22.00 with Swiss it was very quick bag drop - (check in online if you can as you can drop it of at first class desk). Airport still hot but the guys at the cafe friendly and serve drinks quick. When you have passed security at the gate they have air conditioning which is heaven after the heat of Tanzania. I like this small airport - have never had a problem and have used it several times.

This is not a good place to travel through. They stopped improving it in about 1957. There is no way you can use a credit card here to buy an airline ticket. To go and buy a ticket you have to go through security - but you need a ticket to go through security - you then have to get a pass to go through security by leaving your passport behind. Very disorganized chaotic slow lines repetitive checking for no reason hot sweaty limited service. The business class lounge is not too bad. This place really needs some work. The smaller airports in Tanzania are fine but this one has to be the worst airport for its size I have been in. The only saving grace is that most of the people are nice.

My flight was at 21.20 on a Friday night. It was very busy and if you are travelling at this time leave at least 2 hours to get to your gate. I have got through to the departure gate in 30 minutes on previous.

An airport with very basic facilities. Arrival was smooth: I waited for around 15 min for immigration clearance and 10 min for customs clearance (which was ok). In front of visa counter I saw crowds of passengers applying for visa (fortunately I did not need a visa) so if you are flying with a wide-body aircraft and you need a visa it pays to disembark as early as possible so you could proceed to visa counter quickly. The taxi stand outside arrival hall claimed to offer 'govt-regulated' fares to different parts of the city but the list could be ignored as it is pricey. Bargain with drivers. There was an exchange shop at the far end of the arrival hall which offered a relatively better exchange rate - Very similar to the rate in city so if one needs to buy some TZS that's a better option. Departure was more chaotic with the main problem being a lack of any flight information display. You just do not know which lounge is for which flight. There are a few shops in departure lounges but not impressive in particular.

There are some bars and restaurants 5 mins from the airport that are not expensive on the main road. I had to travel in rush hour it pays to get to the airport early in rush hour but you can not enter the airport before your check in time. I agree the traffic is very bad in rush hour. There is not much to keep you entertained out side the airport so there is no point getting there to early.

The airport is one challenge but the traffic volume to reach the airport is incredible. Allow lots of extra time to reach the airport from the city especially during the morning and evening rush times.

If you can book your seat at the front of the plane when you arrive it helps if you have to purchase your visa in Dar Es Salaam as it a bit of a scramble. Passport control and collecting luggage was no problem. Do not put too many clothes on when you leave as the air conditioning seems not to work - they were installing new system when I was coming through the airport.

Dar airport was probably very nice when it first opened however after decades of neglect by the airports authority it is not surprise that it is looking shabby unkempt. The airport is slow but get used to it nobody rushes in Dar. The business class lounge (soon to be rebuilt but not in a hurry!) is appalling in comparison to other airports it's got free drinks and snacks and if you are lucky you may get a seat. On the flip side of this you have the fact that if you are arriving its the gateway to one of the most beautiful and friendliest countries in the world. Look past Dar airport!

Dar must have the slowest system of processing people on arrival in the world. The queues snake up the stairs as the single kiosk attempts to deal with it all. So when you reach the bottom of the stairs you have about an hour to go. Once you get to the kiosk they take a computerised mug shot of you then you just hang around for another half an hour while that gets in the system. The whole airport needs levelling and rebuilding.

Domestic terminal is great fun. You hang about with the pilots and other passengers etc watching the flights come and go. When it's your turn you walk to the single prop climb aboard and follow the progress of the flight with your map and the GPS on the flight deck! The international terminal (built to replace the old domestic terminal) is a mess. Sweaty (aircon doesn't work) poor value shops and inefficient - a real third world job.