"slow and inefficient passport control"
Alfred Duroyon (United States)
Not Verified | 3 covid control stops after arrival, plus the yellow fever one. They don't really care about paperwork, they expect another kind of printed paper. Then slow and inefficient passport control in a hot hallway without fan. Toilets without soap, toilet paper or toilet seats. Few areas have ac or even a fan. Beware after exiting airport doors some thugs will come to you if you don't look African and pretend the person waiting for you is further and could not come. I advise to pick a flight that dont land too late in the evening. No wifi also.
Experience At Airport | Arrival and Departure |
Date Visit | November 2022 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | 12345 |
Airport Shopping | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"I felt angry, afraid, confused and threatened"
Barbara Delores Baugh Robinson (United States)
✅ Trip Verified | I forgot to mention upon my arrival to Douala, Cameroon airport how the police or security officer wearing an olive green uniform stationed near the exit doors of the airport approached me with his hand out saying, "madam you have something for me?" He kept repeating it with his hand out rubbing his fingers together and would not let me proceed any further. I felt angry, afraid, confused and threatened. He was armed with a weapon. Travelers beware of being targeted by security authority. Upon my departure from this airport: Personnel rudeness and long delay in getting boarding pass and miss check luggage. The female agent verified if I needed a wheelchair and I responded, "yes". Then she pointed for me to leave the boarding pass counter and said, "You have to go wait at the gate". I said, "I don't understand". Wait where? After being asked three times in an aggressive tone of voice. I said, "I guess not or no to the wheelchair" because I didn't know where to go to get to the gate she was pointing at. Later, I changed my mind and requested the wheelchair to expedite to my gate. The female agent verbally attacked me and came from around he counter and got right in my face stating, "You said that you didn't want a wheelchair!" She said this over and over. She was in my personal space. I just wanted my boarding pass and a wheelchair to get to my gate. Two gentlemen came with the wheelchairs and took me and another traveling companion to the gate. They both were kind, helpful and very professional. The airline agents couldn't find Jackson International Airport (JAN) in their systems to check my luggage all the way to my home destination. I waited at the counter for and hour and a half while four agents searched their computers and a supervisor took my e-ticket to another location to get the "Code" for my final destination. Three days later and I still haven't received my luggage. I have a lost luggage claim pending with Delta.
Experience At Airport | Arrival and Departure |
Date Visit | February 2020 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | N/A |
Airport Shopping | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"leaving on an int'l flight is tiresome"
Michael Powell (United Kingdom)
✅ Verified Review | I arrived at, and left from Douala airport twice in two weeks. As Central African airports go it's not too bad. But if you are only used to big international airports it's not much fun. If you are arriving on an international flight, immigration takes for ever. They have a new system which involves having your photograph and fingerprints taken. Leaving on an international flight is also tiresome - you are continually asked to show your boarding card and passport as you pass along the corridors. Toilets are variable - some have running water, others don't. One big plus at the gate: passengers with oversized hand luggage were firmly told that it was going in the hold. Bravo! If you are travelling to Brussels, don't be alarmed to see your plane arrive and then leave very early. It's doing a quick hop to Yaoundé and then comes back. Check-in is a bit of a lottery. If you arrive too early you are refused access to the check-in area (which is air-conditioned, unlike the main areas). Arrive in a normal time frame and you could be in a long queue. For the uninitiated - your place in the queue is marked by where your luggage is, not where you are. Airport staff are generally unsmiling but not intimidating. A tip: there is an upstairs restaurant in the concourse. It's not bad at all and has a well air-conditioned section. However staff at the snack bar at the bottom of the stairs will tell you the restaurant is closed. Don't just believe them - go up and check. Another tip: if you have an internal flight on Camair, go straight to the office in the concourse and check that it is actually going to operate. It's not going to be a certainty.
Experience At Airport | Arrival and Departure |
Date Visit | November 2016 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"they are busy upgrading the place"
Wilrich Laing (South Africa)
The main issue I had as a transit passenger at Douala International Airport was that you cannot go strait to international departures after arriving on an international flight. I had electronically checked in for my connection flight already. I arrived from Malabo on Ethiopian and traveled onward to Johannesburg on South African Airways. I had to enter through customs and got issued with a transit visa (free) and then had to exit through customs again to international departures. Once in the departure terminal there is a business lounge that you can also enter for US$ 20 if you travel economy. It looks like they are busy upgrading the place so all considering it is ok.
Experience At Airport | Transit |
Date Visit | August 2015 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | 12345 |
Airport Shopping | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
Douala Airport customer review
Mark Bickerton
I flew into Douala on Swiss and departed on Virgin Nigeria. Both experiences were quite pleasant. I had only hand luggage and was in and out of the airport quite quickly. When departing we waited at the gate which was quite calm and cool. Yes its a bit manic as you walk out of the airport with people and noise everywhere but lots of places are like that. If you know where you are going or have someone to meet you its fine.
Recommended | no |
Douala Airport customer review
H Jackson
Not much has changed in this airport built a 30+ years ago. The outside is decrepit. Security is virtually non existent. Touts were able to penetrate the immigration arrival area where apparently for a fee they assist arriving passengers with the immigration forms. I witnessed this with a group of Chinese arrivals. More touts swarm you in the baggage arrival area where you are also hustled to part with cash in order that they may assist you through customs. Everybodys luggage is supposed to be searched before exit but I think this is more of a money grab. The whole experience can be very unsettling to the western traveller. Exit was not much better. The airport staff often try to extort money for hand luggage with limits set at 7kg. A small bribe will get you past this nuisance. I forgot to pay airport tax before getting to the immigration counter so the immigration officer graciously offered to collect it for me. From my hands it went straight to her left pocket! Duty free is rather limited. A few arts and crafts stands some selling local music cds/ dvds local tea coffee and some snacks. An airport to avoid even by African standards. Security screening is performed by the airlines themselves. The only place where I was not hassled by money was in the toilet. No way I can foresee the FAA approving direct flights to the US from this airport.
Recommended | no |