In pictures: Dubai Airports turns 60

Since opening on September 30, 1960, DXB has served 1.115 billion passengers

Last updated:
Karishma H. Nandkeolyar (Parenting Editor)
2 MIN READ
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His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Thursday made a special reference to Dubai Airports in a tweet as DXB completed 60 years.
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“I was ten years old when I frst stood at London’s Heathrow Airport, amazed at its size and the number of planes and people at the airport...Several years ago, British newspapers appeared with a borad headline “Dubai Airport bypasses Heathrow Airport”... I learned that there is no impossible dream,” he said in the tweet.
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Since opening on September 30, 1960, DXB has served 1.115 billion passengers travelling on more than 7.47 million flights connecting over 240 destinations in 95 countries across the globe.
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Sheikh Mohammed inspects an aircraft at DXB airport.
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DXB’s history is replete with examples of forward thinking and aviation firsts. It was the first airport in the Middle East to feature a gated terminal, along with the largest Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower when Sheikh Rashid terminal opened in 2000, and the first to launch e-gates in 2002
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Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, tweeted: "In six decades, @DXB Airport rose from being a modest runway with a small building, to ranking 1st as the world’s busiest hub by international passenger traffic, serving 1.1 billion passengers since 1960."
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Sheikh Hamdan posted a collage of photos showing him and Sheikh Mohammed at DXB onto his Twitter page and wrote on the occasion: “On DXB’s’s 60th anniversary, we congratulate the @DubaiAirports team, led by @HHAhmedBinSaeed for a journey that started from a desert to embrace the clouds through world-leading airline, @Emirates. Dubai now looks forward to a future that is true to the vision of @HHShkMohd.”
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Here's a look at the airport in its early days.
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DXB is home to the world’s leading international airline and duty-free retail operation. DXB became the world’s busiest international airport in 2014 and welcomed its billionth passenger in December 2018.
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Today in spite of the pandemic, DXB is doing well. Today, it serves 51% of the destinations, in 77% of the countries, and 58% of the airlines it did pre-COVID-19.
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