"very poorly designed"
Katsuo Tataki (Japan)
This airport has everything an airport needs, but it is very poorly designed. The terminals are far apart and aside from taking the internal shuttle you need to go up and down enormous escalators in order to access elevated walkways that connect different buildings. Also, they use very strange truck-like buses that can be raised off the ground like a crane in order to reach the doors of the terminal buildings. These vehicles are bulky and and militaristic. They look like they were designed by soviet engineers. The US has pretty bad airports on a global standard, so Dulles is still a decent airport in the US.
Experience At Airport | Transit |
Date Visit | January 2016 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | N/A |
Wifi Connectivity | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
"how can it be so bad"
2 reviews Jason Geisinger (United States)
It amazes me how one busiest and largest hub airports in the US can be so bad. Its a 45 minutes drive from the city, which = $80-$100 one way cab fare. The security lines. You could wait an unnecessary 30 minutes in these lines, due to inefficient management. Then once you are finally through the machines, you have to make your way through the maze of escalators and halls to get to the right train or bus-thingy to get to the correct terminal. My personal favorite is when you get off the train at Terminal C and you still have to walk 1/3 mile to get to the concourse. Then you have pray you took the correct turn to get to your gate. On the upside, it has some decent restaurants and shops.
Experience At Airport | Departure Only |
Date Visit | December 2015 |
Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | 12345 |
Airport Shopping | 12345 |
Wifi Connectivity | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"lines were relatively short"
R Chang (United States)
I was flying to Dulles and back from MSP (Minneapolis). The lines for checking in and security were relatively short, even though it was the week after the 4th of July. The only thing I'd have to say about Dulles is the amount of food options in the main building before the escalators to get up to Concourse A. The only food option is a Subway and possibly a Burger King if you want to eat a meal. There's a Dunkin Donuts for snack though.
Experience At Airport | Arrival and Departure |
Date Visit | July 2015 |
Type Of Traveller | Family Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
"processing was quick and easy"
Alasdair Brooks (United Kingdom)
I'm a regular user of Dulles, and was dreading arriving on the afternoon of January 4th, a peak travel day, on a packed trans-Atlantic flight. Leaving the people mover (and I know I'm in the minority, but I like them), my heart sank when I saw how busy immigration was. Several other flights had arrived at a similar time, including flights from Japan and Qatar, and I resigned myself to at least two hours queuing in the non-citizens section. But that's not what happened. For the first time ever in my experience, the immigration hall was almost fully staffed, processing was quick and easy, and I was through both immigration and customs (more long but fast-moving and well-staffed queues) in precisely an hour. Many of us are often - quite rightly - quick to complain when US airport immigration is poorly staffed and painfully slow, but I thought it worth noting at least one day when Dulles actually managed to get it right.
Experience At Airport | Arrival Only |
Date Visit | January 2016 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | N/A |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
"Long term parking can be an issue"
B Gardner (United States)
Long term parking can be an issue. Dulles does not have a good or reliable shuttle to long term parking. There is no rhyme of reason to how the shuttle service works at the terminal. After recent personal travel I was appauled at the lack of any organization. Everyone is left to there own accord. This is expecially bad if you use United Airlines for arrival.
Experience At Airport | Arrival and Departure |
Date Visit | November 2015 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | 12345 |
Airport Shopping | 12345 |
Wifi Connectivity | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"halls were cramped"
A Barton (United States)
My husband, 10 month old baby and I flew into Washington Dulles from Frankfurt, Germany and therefore had to go through customs to get back into the country. It was the absolute worst experience that I've ever had in customs. The halls were cramped, it was hot, there were people crammed at the foot of the escalator, so unfortunately, people were getting backed up on the escalator. It took us 2 hours to get through customs and we missed our connecting flight.
Experience At Airport | Transit |
Date Visit | October 2015 |
Type Of Traveller | Family Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | N/A |
Wifi Connectivity | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"terminal was relatively quiet"
41 reviews Anurag Dave (United States)
Arrived early morning in IAD from LAX. Once you disembark from the aircraft, you have to take these uniquely-shaped shuttles that take you to baggage claim. After you collect your bag, the Supershuttle check-in is inside the terminal, and you have to wait inside until they call your ticket number. During the return flight, I found it unique that all the passengers (domestic and international) gather in the same general area for security screening. Once screening is done, you catch a shuttle to your respective terminal. United terminal was relatively quiet with fewer passengers travelling on a Sunday morning.
Experience At Airport | Arrival and Departure |
Date Visit | September 2015 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | 12345 |
Airport Shopping | 12345 |
Wifi Connectivity | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
"incredibly rude and abrasive"
D Courchesne (Canada)
The staff at this airport are incredibly rude and abrasive. I witnessed a security staff member scold an elderly man for stepping up to the kiosk before being called over by the staff member. This man's native language was not English, and the signs instructing passengers to wait to be called over were not clear. The staff member basically told the man he didn't know how to read the sign. Secondly, while waiting in line to go through security the staff members were all shouting at the passengers because we didn't know what to do. They would tell us to wait, then tell us to keep the line going.
Experience At Airport | Transit |
Date Visit | October 2015 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | 12345 |
Airport Shopping | 12345 |
Wifi Connectivity | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"worst arrival experience"
E Chan (United States)
Washington Dulles International Airport was the worst international arrival experience I had. Poor signage - they compensate by having employees shout to people to direct traffic at immigration (which means mistakes and confused travelers because international arrivals have plenty of people who are not native English speakers. Slow lines for both citizens and non-citizens. Insufficient TSA stations and staff means slow getting things into the X-ray machine, and if anyone needs follow-up bag-check the entire line stops. I saw rudeness to parents of babies who were asked to throw away baby food. People asked to step aside to wait and then forgotten for quite some time. Will never fly international arrival through IAD.
Experience At Airport | Transit |
Date Visit | October 2015 |
Type Of Traveller | Business |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | N/A |
Wifi Connectivity | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"the worst TSA processing line"
Paul Ashburn (United States)
Never allow less than 3 hours for transiting Immigration, then Customs, and then the worst TSA processing line since Denver when it first opened. You have to remember these are federal employees - you cannot complain about poor efficiency or performance, they don't care. And, you better not complain or you'll be selected for special screening - delaying yourself and those behind you in line. Poor signage, no apologies from the slow acting employees. Is this really the best the U.S. can master?
Experience At Airport | Transit |
Date Visit | October 2015 |
Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | N/A |
Wifi Connectivity | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | no |