Dubai Airport

At a busy time of year it is surprising that they are doing lots of upgrading work. The showers are now closed. Large areas of seating and restaurants are boarded up. It is also a shame there are no areas to sit and relax. I was lucky that my stopover was only 2.5 hours - it would be awful if it was any longer.

Istanbul to Dubai. Took me around 2-3 hours to check out to spend a few hours in the hotel before my flight to Durban. I found the staff extremely rude and arrogant. Had to queue in long lines for hours - eye scan/bank/customs. The staff on the ground had no idea where I should go. I spent around 30 mins in a line and when I got to the end of the line the lady behind the counter shouted "go there" i.e. next line and she closed her counter. Had to join the next line at the back. Would avoid this airport even if it cost me more to fly with another airline.

DXB terminal 3 is very busy around the standard transfer times (midnight-3am eastwards 5-8am westwards). Facilities are good but not enough. Shops very busy. Hard to find a free seat in the business class lounge. And amazingly although the toilets and showers look very luxurious at first sight they are not properly cleaned and very busy at peak times. (Never saw a waiting line at the men's before). Suggestion: Terminal 1 is more quiet and relaxed.

Beware: if you are in transit you will in all probability encounter long queues for security check. As of now more than 400 people waiting in 6 lines even at 7 am. The central lobby has just too many transit passengers. Consider your self lucky if you didn't bump into a fellow passenger from the opposite direction. Well a surprise for Business Class passengers - you will need to hunt to find a seat. All goods are more expensive in duty free shop. Care must be exercised.

I pass through DXB about a dozen times a year on Emirates. I would love to know the percentage of flights where passengers are bussed to and from the terminal because in my experience it's around 30% and it's getting boring. 10 minutes to fill up the busses and a 20 minute ride in a freezing cold box before being dumped into the Arrivals Zoo. Meanwhile back at the gates there are dozens of foreign airlines neatly parked at one of the 200+ gates. So why are Emirates bussing so many passengers at DXB? Well the airport have sold all of these Landing Slots into an airport which is simply not big enough to park all the aircraft at gates so in order to squeeze them all in the national flag carrier is bussing passengers to and from parking areas - at their home airport. Total disgrace.

Arrival is awful. Eye scan and border control took me 1 hr 40 min! Departure from terminal 3 good self check-in waiting areas. Lots of shops with good prices cafes/restaurants very good too.

Terminal 3 easy transfer through security good signage. Pleasant waiting areas. Terminal 3 has a vast array of shops. Used the terminal hotel which while rather expensive but easy to find and is a pleasant haven if you have a long layover.

I have used this airport twice and will never use or recommend it again. Security staff are rude and not friendly and courtesy staff do not understand English. Three times I asked for baby change rooms and was pointed to the baby strollers information desk and the lifts. Had to transit in Dubai so had to leave the airport. That in itself was a nightmare as it wasn't clear where to go. The actually airport is satisfactory but airport staff need to improve dramatically to meet the image Dubai portrays.

Flew to and from Terminal One on arrival had a long walk from the gate to immigration which took the best part of an hour and once through you can use the Duty Free shop prior to collecting your baggage. On return at 3am in the morning had to pass through security prior to entering the check in area and then before entering the departure area - once through the terminal is disappointing and looks more like a low cost terminal compared to Terminal 2 and 3 and is reminiscent to something from the 1980's.

We had to transit in Terminal 3 two times. We faced the nightmare overcrowded noisy and dark. Just a modern souk with not enough toilets or areas for rest. Rude security staff yelling like soldiers. Decorated with an awful taste. This airport does not live up to Emirates concept of excellence.