Dar Es Salaam Airport

Customer Reviews

No Skytrax Rating
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Queuing Times 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Staff 12345
Customer rating from 33 reviews
3/10
No Skytrax Rating
Sort Reviews by :
Show
1/10

"overall a terrible experience"

(Australia)

Trip Verified | Very old terminal with which is very hot in summer. Food is on the bad side of average and quite expensive. Staff were terribly rude, unhelpful and seem to severely lack experience. Customs officers seem more interested in chatting to colleagues or playing around on their phones than doing their jobs, overall a terrible experience would recommend avoiding this place like the plague.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitDecember 2023
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
8/10

"Airport tremendously improving"

(Denmark)

Not Verified |   Airport tremendously improving. Immigration so easy, relaxed and kind. All sections of airport is now much spacier than pre-corona times. New, marvelous CIP Lounge as alternative to the old, stuffy Tanzanite. Has nice foods, snacks, local craft beers, outdoor areas but lacks curves in design, tarmac windows, champagne, and music.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitNovember 2023
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
yes
7/10

"service has improved markedly"

(United Kingdom)

Not Verified | The service has improved markedly. However visa on arrival takes close to an hour with three queues, paperwork, payment and then entry stamp. The is clearly an effort to improve things and departure was swift and smooth. Hassle free. We had an issue with the airport barrier which failed to work as someone walked under it and the lady did not acknowledge us when this happened and just moved onto the next queue without any explanation. We had to get annoyed to be acknowledged. The guard then came out with a gun and said we now had to wait till the end. How is that good service. If you want tourists to visit - please change your attitude and show courtesy and give efficient service. Remember that visitors expect good service. Generally at the airport a good experience and much improved on previous visits. Nice airport and service showed an improvement. It would help if immigration officers smiled a bit more and tried to speed up a little. Staff at the airport were trained to give good service with a smile. Hope to see things improving on the next visit.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitFebruary 2020
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Wifi Connectivity 12345
Airport Staff 12345
yes
1/10

"The staff is corrupt"

(Canada)

Trip Verified | Worst airport experience, ever. The staff is corrupt. I got harassed by a customs officer (with two other watching) for a bribe. Eventually, he openly asked for money. When I picked up my items and walked away, he actually found me in the lounge and openly asked for money. For a country that relies so heavily on tourists, they need to monitor their staff better. I've seen a lot of airports with poor facilities (due to them being in poor countries) but harassment of passengers is something else altogether. I am going to avoid this airport (and this country) like a plague.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitOctober 2019
Type Of TravellerCouple 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
no
2/10

"chaos at customs"

(United States)

Not Verified | Highly recommend getting your visa prior to departing your home country. It is chaos at customs if you're trying to get one there, and it takes close to an hour.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitMay 2019
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Airport Staff 12345
no
2/10

"Customs is slow and unorganised"

(Portugal)

Trip Verified | No internet available. Staff rude and unhelpful. For instance the guy at customs stopped had a drink and sent a message on phone then 2 minutes later looked up and took my passport. Customs is slow and unorganised. Even confusing. Terminal is poor.
Experience At AirportArrival and Departure
Date VisitNovember 2018
Type Of TravellerCouple 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
no
6/10

"do not expect anything to change for some while"

(United Kingdom)

Verified Review | Unlike an earlier reviewer, my arrival experience was much easier. I had obtained a visa before I left London and hence had not got that issue to deal with on arrival. It was a short walk across an airbridge into the small old airport. Then down some stairs into a rather cramped area where visas where purchased on the right and forms filled in on the left. We did not know we had to fill in a landing card which asked for almost the same information we had given on our visa application. We were fingerprinted, photographed, asked questions for which the answer was already on the form, passports stamped and through to baggage in minutes. Our flight was virtually empty but I would imagine that on a full flight it could be a different experience. Our bags were in the hall and for the first time ever, someone checked my tags against the bags I said were mine. Another X-Ray and then outside. There was the usual melee of taxi touts etc awaiting everyone. I have heard of ridiculous prices being charged ($40 US for a return trip to the nearest ATM because the airport ATM was not working) but luckily this did not apply to us because we were transferring to another part of the airport. This is an old undeveloped airport and it looked as if there was little work taking place on the almost completed new airport so do not expect anything to change for some while. I have been to far worse airports and this was not as bad an experience as I had prepared myself for.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitSeptember 2017
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages N/A
Airport Staff 12345
yes
1/10

"the worst experience I have ever encountered"

(Kenya)

Verified Review | I have used this airport regularly for around 5 years. The airport gives incoming travellers the worst experience I have ever encountered, and that's saying something. For a country which relies heavily on tourism it is a national disgrace to welcome tourists in the way they do. There are plenty of other reviews here detailing the dreadful immigration process etc and the dilapidation of the facilities. Once you are through that you have to deal with the 'official taxi' mafia who produce a 'menu' of charges which is ridiculously expensive. Uber works well in Dar generally, but if you use them at the airport you need to meet your Uber at the fuel station at the airport exit. The 'official taxi' mafia will throw stones at the Uber cars if they come inside the airport! Enough said! For the sake of Tanzania I hope they get the new terminal up and running as soon as possible and implement entirely new systems with thoroughly trained staff.
Experience At AirportArrival Only
Date VisitSeptember 2017
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Terminal Seating 12345
Terminal Signs 12345
Food Beverages 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
Airport Staff 12345
no
3/10

Dar Es Salaam Airport customer review

(United Kingdom)

I may be expecting a little too much but I found this airport to be really poor. We arrived about 4 hours prior to our flight as we were connecting to a different flight through Dar and had to retrieve our baggage in between flights. We started queuing to check-in about 3 hours before our flight, and we only had about 30 mins to spare beyond security before boarding by the time we had checked in and got through security. All just incredibly slow. Incidentally, if we had checked in online it would have been no quicker as the check-in and baggage drop queue were one and the same. Admittedly, some of this may have been the fault of the airline (Qatar). The baggage handling system was none existent. Literally. Our bags weren't loaded onto our plane. The route from check-in to passport control to security just takes way too long. There is nowhere pre security for drinks or anything to eat, and there isn't much more beyond security. The only place to eat is pretty poor and overpriced. The whole airport looked incredibly dated and in need of refurbishment. Its a shame because Tanzania is a fantastic country and the main access/egress point is poor.
Experience At AirportDeparture Only
Date VisitAugust 2015
Type Of TravellerCouple 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
no
5/10

Dar Es Salaam Airport customer review

(United Kingdom)

I have to say my second arrival in Dar was much better than the first. First time arrived amid a plague of flying cockroach-like insects that were all attracted to the light inside the terminal. Spent ages swatting them in a huge line for immigration that took over an hour only to then be told I needed a "special" permit and had to pay 200 USD (I already had a business visa). Not wanting to argue I joined the next disorganised line paid my 200 USD and waited another 30 minutes to get my passport back. Notable that everyone in the "special" line was Caucasian. Second time all desks open for immigration friendly hello from the official and a quick stamp and on my way. No "special" permit needed this time for some reason. Bags came out quickly and was out of the airport within 10 minutes of landing. Let's hope that the new terminal will be finished on time and that there will be no more "special" line.
Queuing Times 12345
Terminal Cleanliness 12345
Airport Shopping 12345
no
1 to 10 of 33 Reviews