#1billion DXB

It took 51 years, from 1960 to 2011 for Dubai International Airport to reach 500 million passengers. However in a sign of how quickly DXB has been growing, it took just seven years for the airport to add the second 500 million and to reach the one billion passenger mark.

In fact, according to Dubai International Airport, the one billionth passenger was nine-year-old Arjun and his family who arrived on December 20th from Orlando, Florida on Emirates flight EK220. DXB says that to choose the one billionth passenger, it “used its passenger traffic forecast to narrow down the selection to a specific flight and approached Emirates to make a random selection.”

Arjun and his family were greeted by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports in a ceremony and were treated to a series of Dubai experiences over the next few days, in what was their first visit to the city.