Washington Dulles Airport

I didn't think it could get worse but the new train system and the amount of walking to get anywhere is crazy. First are the ridiculous security lines - waiting an hour to get through security is unacceptable. The ridiculous extra 15-20 mins of walking up and down escalators to eventually get to the gates. I will do a connection through Reagan next time just to avoid the level of inconvenience that the Dulles inefficiency creates.

I use this airport mainly to connect from United's Int'l flights to its domestic flights. Although connecting passengers are to use separate Immigration and Customs at C concourse the situation is even worse in comparison with Chicago-O'Hare or Los Angeles where you have to move from one terminal to another. In my past two trips this year both of which involved Int'l to Dom transfer on UA there were 90 mins between arrival and departure. This was much longer than the minimum connection time published by United. On both occasions I did not have enough time (my first occasion I made the connecting flight 5 minutes prior to its departure time and the second time I was able to make a connection because the outgoing flight was delayed for 2 hours). There are too few immigration officers to handle passengers during the peak time (around 3-5pm) in which a number of 777s and 747s arrive almost every 5 minutes. What made it even worse was the train to connect terminals. If you were connecting to flights (esp. UA Express or Continental) leaving from A concourse you have to walk to the middle of C concourse go down the stairs backward wait for a train then once you have reached the concourses A/B you have to go all the way up to cross a bridge to go to the gate areas. This would normally take at least 25-30 mins compared to the time when there was a mobile lounge operating between C and A. The airlines seriously need to consider revising MCT at IAD.

Missed flight due to long customs wait. Had to catch another flight which put me landing at my original destination 6 hrs past my original time. Not to happy considering I had been flying all day from Amsterdam. They need to speed the process up.

A far more enjoyable experience than I had feared on arrival and departure. Apart from the irritation of the weird mobile lounge taking us to the international arrivals facility all went well. Only 5 mins wait at immigration and no queue at all at outbound security. Generally friendly staff (even TSA) in a clean and uncluttered environment. Concourse B was a particularly impressive sight with a great range of restaurants and bars (although little retail).

The first time that I have used this airport and it was an awful experience. Service was below standard staff rude and appeared to lack knowledge. Everything appeared to be disorganized and travelers made to feel like an inconvenience. From the time we entered the airport until we got to our gate was approximately 2+ hrs. Anyone who has been to Atlanta airport knows how frustrating that can be but Dulles makes Atlanta look wonderful.

Arrival from London Heathrow. Had to get the mobile lounge to take us to the international arrivals area. There were many immigration officers and no queue. The agent was polite and processed us quickly. We had to wait no longer than 5 mins for our bags to arrive. Customs check was very quick. Departure was just as efficient. Plenty of check-in agents no queue even though there were 3 BA flights that evening. Security checks were fine many gates open and a fast moving queue. The biggest hold up is people not preparing for security check. Took the new train to B terminal which was fast. Spacious and airy terminal. Plenty of places to eat and drink.

I was coming in from Frankfurt and as a green card holder I am lucky to get to use the US citizen section of immigration. While it was slow it did move - unlike the non-citizen lines. Most people around me however did not think they would make their connection flights. I had 2 hours between flights and arrived at the gate to the St. Louis flight less than 10 mins before takeoff. The immigration officer was condescending but as a frequent traveler to Europe I am used to it unfortunately as there are many rude ones at any port of entrance airport in the US. Security was a complete mess and equally unprepared for (and uninterested in) the many flights that were coming in from abroad. Instead of at least supplying us with the plastic boxes needed to put all your stuff in we had to get them ourselves walking over to some pile once the one at the belt was depleted. Terrible attitudes and awful facilities.

I arrived at the same time as many other people from overseas transferring to other flights. They appeared unprepared for processing more than about 50 people. You collect your bag and after that everything falls apart. The room is small low ceilings and hot and it keeps merging into a 2 lane security control. It was a small miracle that my bag actually arrived in SF same time as I. There are no roped off zigzag lanes until you are really close to the security point so it is a mass of hot tired people trying to squeeze into a bottleneck. In my case once finally through the scanner it was a very long walk to the next flight. Not a single moving sidewalk. Just crowded terminals never ending and one very long hot sprint.

Once upon a time it was magic - arrived/departed Concorde several times nothing too much trouble. Fast forward a few years United flight from LHR. Awful immigration/ passport delays surly staff and general chaos. When querying how I was supposed to make my connecting flight in time (luggage checked all the way tho' to my final destination) I was told if I do not make the flight I would have to spend the night in DC and come back the next day. Made the connecting flight with minutes to spare after having run for what seemed miles. Great start to a business trip.

Arrived on Korean Air from ICN. Washington Dulles airport is very cramped especially arrival passport control. Lines are very long mostly because TSA take too much time to check people. I took me 1hr to pass through the immigration process. Not to mention arrogant attitudes of TSA. There were 2-3 Korean Air FA's at the passport control to help anyone who has difficulty in speaking English which I find a superb service offered by Korean Air. Arrival hall was very cramped and dark with its horribly low ceiling. Starbucks at the arrival hall is always full of people so don't expect to find a place to sit. Wouldn't recommend anyone to enter the US through IAD.