"food was reasonably priced"
N Sutcliffe (United Kingdom)
Not Verified | Dubai airport is vast, but on entering arrivals staff were to hand explaining exactly where to go. However, the passport scanning system is not very good, neither the biometric system. I inserted my passport, followed instructions and got through customs with no problem. However, my husband had a huge problem. Firstly, the passport scan did not work, then he was sent to have his passport checked by an official and he kept being told to open his eyes for the scanning system. His eyes were wide open and still it did not work. He was then sent quite a way from me to immigration which was unnerving for me since we had never been to Dubai before and I was worried that we would lose each other. Another scan that did not work. Eventually, a phone was used to take his photograph and we were allowed through. A very unpleasant experience for our first impression of Dubai. However, I found terminal 3 to be extremely clean: including toilets on both arrival and departure and food was reasonably priced. I do agree that some airport staff should make passengers more welcome. They are the first point of contact in Dubai and after long journeys they need to be aware of the stress of travel and the apprehension some feel on visiting a different country. However, I found Dubai to be a friendly, multi racial and welcoming country, which I loved.
Experience At Airport | Arrival and Departure |
Date Visit | October 2023 |
Type Of Traveller | Couple Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | 12345 |
Airport Shopping | 12345 |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | yes |
"limited and expensive food options"
54 reviews Rahul Anand (India)
✅ Trip Verified | Terminal 1 is used by non UAE airlines, easily connected through city by bus ,metro and cab/private vehicle. You do check in, immigration and security at terminal and then train to concourse/gate. Big duty free but limited and expensive food options, could have been better, cleanliness 10 out of 10, lots of staff to assist passengers.
Experience At Airport | Departure Only |
Date Visit | October 2023 |
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 |
"Bad experience of security"
E Head (United Kingdom)
Not Verified | Bad experience of security. Half of the passengers were selected for searching. I enquired why this was the case and what the searches were. A very rude male security worker refused to answer my questions. When I asked to speak to his superior I was ignored. I believe he would not have spoken to me in this way if I was a man.
Experience At Airport | Transit |
Date Visit | September 2023 |
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 |
"bad experience at airport security"
Kokul Kumaraswamy (Canada)
Not Verified | I had a bad experience at the airport security. I was travelling to Toronto on Sep 2nd at 2 am flight (AC 057), prior to the boarding they was a random security check, all random security checked only Canadian passport not other country passports. Security Guards pretended like Interpol Police, but total unacceptable check ups. And security professional gave us a dirty look. Asking authorities to place the professional to perform the random check and not sure what was the reason for the random check with selective Canadian Passport Holders. Decided to not to travel to Dubai for any reasons.
Experience At Airport | Arrival and Departure |
Date Visit | September 2023 |
Type Of Traveller | Family 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 |
"the lavatory problem"
1 reviews James Au (Hong Kong)
✅ Trip Verified | Overall, my journey through the airport has been smooth. And staying in the Airport for 10 hours overnight is tiring but likely there are some lie-flat seats in the terminal which I found quite useful. The main point that I would talk about is the lavatory problem. I found the lavatory in Concourse A had been ill-maintained. The water sink has been slightly over pressured. When I place my hand on it, some water spills on my T-shirt. That is also why there are lots of water spots on the sink table. Plus I see some tissues on the sink. I find the Concourse C lavatories are doing a much better job in interior Decoration, and cleanliness. If they can, why they don't do the same for Concourse A? For transit hubs, this detail does make a lot of difference in user satisfaction and they should invest more in maintaining the quality of the airport facilities quality.
Experience At Airport | Transit |
Date Visit | July 2023 |
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 |
"ruining my time of travel"
Komariah Mihraz (United Arab Emirates)
✅ Trip Verified | I traveled use Emirates from Dammam and landed at terminal 3, and I have connecting flight to Hong Kong by Cathay Pacific, so I have to take shuttle bus to reach terminal 1 and go through 3 time scanning process, 1st scan, 2nd scan have no problem, when I pass by the scan there is peep sound due to small pin in my turban, while in 3rd scan I meet the very rude officer. While I explain, I been twice scanning and the sound is from the small pin, he shouted "TALK TO ME" and sawing angry face and ask me to take of all my jewelry I wear nd put in the basket to scan. It's real disappointing that Dubai airport have such kind of customers service, which ruining my time of travel.
Experience At Airport | Departure Only |
Date Visit | August 2023 |
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 |
"it's abysmal in one major respect"
Dave Stephens (South Africa)
Not Verified | Frankly, it's abysmal in one major respect. There aren't any travelators and it is absolutely huge. Very painful when your plane is delayed in arriving at the airport due to it being late at your first airport. When you arrive at DBX forty minutes before your next one is due to leave when it should have been two hours and then have to hike almost it seems right the way across the airport to your London flight it's when you ask "which idiot designed an airport which is going to be mainly used by transit passengers and don't put in travelators". Fair enough, there were Emirates staff showing which way to go, and it was 'OK' on my return trip but it was still painful. Definitely will think twice about Emirates next time though - this was a test trip that they effectively failed because of DXB.
Experience At Airport | Arrival and Departure |
Date Visit | July 2023 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | N/A |
Airport Staff | 12345 |
Recommended | no |
"rude security check "
S Heuren (Australia)
✅ Trip Verified | Limited shopping, rude security check with no consistency in the rules they set. Eery time I travel here the requirements are different and seem to be set by individual security people depending on their mood. Not enough seating capacity, toilets are not very clean with often long lines. The only good thing is the train system.
Experience At Airport | Arrival and Departure |
Date Visit | August 2023 |
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 |
"directed to the back of a very long queue"
E Dawson (Luxembourg)
✅ Trip Verified | Transferred by bus to the Terminal 1 satellite building. Big queue for the transfer train into Terminal 1. I squeezed onto the third train. My passport was rejected after queuing for 10 minutes to use the 'smart' gates. This seemed to be happening to about half those who tried to use them. I was then directed to the back of a very long queue to have my passport manually checked. After waiting 15 minutes, those in the row behind me were allowed to move to another area reserved for GCC passport holders. I had to wait another 15 minutes. During this time, the barriers were randomly removed again to allow others to jump the queue.
Experience At Airport | Arrival Only |
Date Visit | August 2023 |
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 |
"difficult to find a quiet place to nap"
Joe Walsh (Ireland)
Not Verified | Airport much quieter than when I was here during ramadan but still difficult to find a quiet place to nap. This is more due to passengers and staff using their phones in areas that would otherwise be quiet. The passenger carrying electrical vehicles drive way to fast through crowded areas. I was here for 10 hours and saw many near collisions with people including one kid who wanted in front of one
Experience At Airport | Transit |
Date Visit | August 2023 |
Type Of Traveller | Solo Leisure |
Queuing Times | 12345 |
Terminal Cleanliness | 12345 |
Terminal Seating | 12345 |
Terminal Signs | 12345 |
Food Beverages | 12345 |
Wifi Connectivity | 12345 |
Recommended | no |