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ASIA-PACIFIC AIRPORTS MAGAZINE
AIRPORT REPORT: DUBAI INTERNATIONAL
Making history We celebrate the 60th anniversary of Dubai International (DXB) and reflect on its response to COVID-19 and planned future development.
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elebrating successes is not something we have done much of in 2020, so it seems only right that we change that in our final issue of the year by turning the spotlight on Dubai International Airport (DXB), which recently marked its 60th anniversary. In typical under-stated fashion, operator Dubai Airports, was never going to make a big deal out of the anniversary, and the impact of COVID-19 on the world ensured that the milestone date of September 30 was marked by a fairly low-key ceremony. However, we believe it is worth taking a closer look at the milestone and DXB’s achievements since that opening day as it is a modern-day success story, literally growing from an airstrip in the desert to the world’s busiest international airport in six decades.
STEP BACK IN TIME
Driven by the vision of the then ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, when DXB opened on September 30, 1960, it essentially had just a small APA Issue 4, 2020
terminal building and a 1,800 metre long runway made from compacted sand that was capable of handling aircraft up to the size of the Douglas DC-3. Its basic facilities and the fact that Dubai had very few visitors back then – all a far cry from the commercial hub and leisure and luxury lifestyle destination that we know today – meant that the airport handled just a few thousand passengers in its first year. DXB opened its first asphalt runway in 1965 – a year before the oil that would transform the Emirate was discovered off Dubai – and a number of small upgrades followed throughout the rest of the decade. These included the extension of the terminal building along with installation of navigational aids, airfield lighting and aircraft hangars for its handful of airline customers. New infrastructure in the 1970s included a three-storey terminal and the first ATC tower in the Middle East while the now asphalt runway was lengthened to 3,800m, new taxiways and apron were added and ILS equipment installed to allow DXB to handle aircraft up to the size of the B747.