Punta Cana Airport

✅ Trip Verified | I fly into Punta Cana about every 2 months. Customs is usually about an hour long (which is barely tolerable), but my trip in September 2019 and November 2019 customs took 2.5 hours to get through ... that's a long line to stand, no food, no drink, no bathroom, no entertainment, just standing anxiously. Because of that delay, my transportation was off time, so had to wait another hour. Each person of the 14 possible was staffing the customs lines, but still moves very slow! Tourism is a big deal to this economy and when you spend half the afternoon standing in line, after an already long flight, and then getting baggage from claim, then having to have it re-screened again on the way out, is ridiculous. As for leaving Punta Cana, the lines are unexpected. The shopping is okay, but the food selection is minimal, gross, and super expensive.

✅ Trip Verified | Horrible immigration. 2 hours waiting midday. We have been coming here for 8 years. Time to start looking at other islands. They just can’t seem to get their program together here. Tourism is the main industry. Invest in staffing. Bad first impression with lots of people in line, frustrated. Tourists have lots of options for beaches. The experience starts at the airport.

Not Verified | Airport was very pretty and felt very tropical. However, there was no AC through it and it was busy at times. There was a good food selection and many shopping options.

Not Verified | Really disappointed in the very long line to get through immigration. One line had 2 officers working it and it went really fast. No sign up saying what the line was for so after 30 minutes in the long line we went to the short line. Got through really quick. Doesn't seem like anyone cares. Then we sat on a big coach bus for an hour waiting for other people. Do not use Amstar. From deplaning to when we got the resort was 2 and a half hours. Flying into Cancun is so much quicker. 1 hour from deplaning to resort.

Not Verified | I went to DR last year and the airport is one of a kind, all open very caribbean style. So beautiful. The bad thing is we had a very early flight (around 6am) and everything was closed. All staff were just starting their duties so everything was a bit slow. We had to wait for them to set up the check in, migrations and security which didn't look very professional.

Not Verified | My husband and myself arrived and departed from this airport. Arrival was fine no problem. Departure was a problem. After going through security and their joke called immigration they get a minus ten in our book. They decided to pull us aside for additional screening. I asked them why us and told them off. I said do we look like drug smugglers? Told them to shove it and will never use this airport again. Never. Have flown into Santo Domingo and never experienced this kind of treatment. Would not recommend Punta Cana airport ever again.

✅ Trip Verified | We're sad. We really like Punta Cana, but the airport is horrible. Upon arrival, it took nearly 2 hours for the long, snaking customs line. Only about half the booths were "staffed", and those who were working there moved as slowly as the sloth clerks at the DMV in Zootopia. The departure area is crazy-hot (no air conditioning) and crazy-loud. Why? It's open to the tarmac, where there is heat and airplane noise and exhaust. It's busy, busy, busy. The airport is profoundly overgrown.

✅ Trip Verified | It is open air (meaning not closed and air-conditioned), so expect a hot arrival and departure. There are no actual gates you shuttle to your airplane on the tarmac and walk the ladder up. Worst was the massive lines to leave this country. No efficiency at the check-in or online options so you are left to stand in a very long line to get your boarding pass. Next on to the security line about 8 scanners for everyone to get through = another long, long line. Then you think are through, nope! Why don't you do another line the length of the security line to go through about 4 customs officer stalls. DR desperately needs to update their process of letting the tourist out of the country. Take a lesson from Mexico and have the form filled out one time in the beginning and the 'receipt' portion turned in when checking in for departure. Bam, third line eliminated!

✅ Trip Verified | I’m not sure why I’m wasting my time with a review since, based on the multiple negative reviews before me, they’re not interested in change. Still, I’ve been in line an hour and have another to go so may as well do it while I wait. By far the most ridiculous arrivals delay I have ever seen - and I have been all over the world to more airports than I can count. There are well over 1500 people crammed into this hall, slowly zigzagging toward a line of rude (and likely overworked) customs agents. Even worse, they demanded we separate from our family even though we wheeled my vomiting brother off the plane in a wheelchair and we were all using the same transportation to get to our accommodation - us into the longest line from Hell and him off in the one car we had ordered and paid for. Why? Because we were two families. So, once we finally get out of here, we’re stranded anyway until we can sort out another ride and meanwhile, I have no idea where he’s gone: the hotel or a hospital? And they were incredibly rude. We speak no Spanish but they insisted on yelling at us in Spanish while pointing to the other line, even as I wheeled him to the desk. I’m quite sure that tourism would be higher - more income generated for the country - if they provided a reasonable number of customs agents and desks. There are 14 desks, two for residents, one unmanned, and literally the entire arrivals hall is full - out the door, no exaggeration. Worst experience. There are so many beautiful islands to visit, why on earth would you waste your time with the DR and this ridiculous entry process? We certainly won’t.

❎ Not Verified | 2 hours to clear arrivals. Worst airport experience in 45 years of world travel. Its clear that they have accepted this as the norm, the layout and queuing aisles seem permanent and staff seem to have rationalised this as normal. Arrivals hall is chaotic, not well signed, unclear to new arrivals how or where to go, last thing you need after a tiring 9 hour flight is confusion. The process has 2 bottlenecks, not enough immigration officers/booths on duty (not rocket science) and then the sting in the tail, the surprise scanning of your bags after luggage pick up. Its a real pity, as we quite enjoyed the resort but Punta Cana Airport arrivals is a real obstacle for us to go back, just don't need the aggravation and there is always choice. Also very disappointed with Tui representatives on site response to our opinion, not really interested.