Dubai International Airport

History

The history of civil aviation in Dubai started in July 1937 when an air agreement was signed for a flying boat base for aircraft of Imperial Airways with the rental of the base at about 440 rupees per month – this included the guards' wages. The Empire Flying Boats started operating once a week flying eastbound to Karachi from the UK and westbound to Southampton, England. By February 1938, there were four flying boats a week.

In the 1940s, flying from Dubai was by flying boats operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), operating the Horseshoe route from Southern Africa via the Persian Gulf to Sydney.

Construction

Construction of the airport was ordered by the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, in 1959. It officially opened on 30 September 1960, at which time it was able to handle aircraft the size of a Douglas DC-3 on a 1,800-metre-long (5,900 ft) runway made of compacted sand. Three turning-areas, an apron and small terminal completed the airport that was constructed by Costain and designed by International Aeradio.

In May 1963, construction of a 2,800-metre (9,200 ft) asphalt runway started. This new runway, alongside the original sand runway and taxiway opened in May 1965, together with several new extensions to the terminal Building, hangars were erected, and Airport and Navigational aids were installed. The installation of the lighting system continued after the official opening and was completed in August 1965. During the second half of the 1960s several extensions, equipment upgrades like a VHF omnidirectional range (VOR), an instrument landing system (ILS), and new buildings were constructed. By 1969, the airport was served by 9 airlines serving some 20 destinations.

The inauguration on 15 May 1966 was marked by the visits of the first big jets, De Havilland Comets of Middle East Airlines and Kuwait Airways.

The advent of wide-body aircraft required further airport development in the 1970s and plans for a new terminal, runways, and taxiways capable of coping with international flights were drawn up. The construction of a new terminal building (now Terminal 1) consisting of a three-story building 110 m (360 ft) long with an enclosed floor area of 13,400 m2 (144,000 sq ft). A new 28 m (92 ft) control tower was also constructed.

It consisted of a series of slender columns which at their tops spread to form squares and resemble stylized palm trees. The terminal also included four inclined piers which gave access to the apron via helical ramps at their outer ends. At the eastern end of the building was a golden dome-shaped VIP suite. In the terminal, passenger handling on the main, or first floor, operational services at ground level, and public lounges and restaurants on the top floor. This new terminal opened on 15 May 1971.

The original terminal building, which was opened in 1960, was abandoned after the construction of Terminal 1 in 1971 and was demolished in the early 1990s. The terminal was located a short way west of Terminal 1 and is now an aircraft parking area.

Expansion

The opening of Terminal 2 in 1998 saw the first step of phase 1 of the new development master plan launched in 1997. In the second stage, Concourse 1 (now Concourse C), named Sheikh Rashid Terminal opened in April 2000. The concourse is 800 m (2,600 ft) in length connects to the check-in area via a 300 m (980 ft) tunnel containing moving walkways (conveyor belt/travelators). It also contains a hotel, business center, health club, exchanges, dining and entertainment facilities, internet services, a medical center, a post office, and a prayer room. The next step was runway reconfiguration, already part of phase 2, and aprons and taxiways were expanded and strengthened in 2003–2004. In addition, the Dubai Flower Centre opened in 2005 as part of the development. The airport saw the need for this as the city is a hub for the import and export of flowers and the airport required a specialist facility since flowers need special conditions.

By the 2000s, according to satellite imagery from the early 2000s, the original 12,500 feet runway had closed and was used as a taxiway and some of it was used as part of the apron of Concourse C. It was closed because of the construction of Concourse C in 1996–2000. The second runway, built in 1984 was shifted further east by 2007.

In 2004, construction of Terminal 3 began as the next stage of phase 2 of the development, with an estimated cost of around $4.55 billion. Completion was originally planned for 2006 but was delayed by two years.

On 30 May 2008, a topping-out ceremony was conducted. The terminal became operational on 14 October 2008, with Emirates flight EK2926 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, being the first flight to arrive at the new terminal and EK843 to Doha, Qatar being the first departing flight. The terminal increased the airport's maximum annual passenger capacity by 47 million, bringing the total annual capacity to 75 million passengers.

On 29 October 2010, the airport marked its 50th anniversary. The airport has seen over 402 million passengers at an average annual growth rate of 15.5% and handled over 3.87 million aircraft at an average annual growth rate of 12.4%.

With the arrival of the Airbus A380, the airport made modifications costing $230 million. These included the building of 29 gates capable of handling large aircraft, five of which are in Terminal 3 and two are in Terminal 1. Other important projects at the airport include the next stage of phase 2 development, which includes the construction of Concourse 3. This will be a smaller version of Concourse 2, connected to Terminal 3.

Iranian strikes

The airport was significantly impacted as a result of the ongoing Iran War with flights either delayed or cancelled. On 28 February 2026, the airport's airspace was closed after Iran launched airstrikes against Dubai. Operations were completely suspended. The airport itself was later damaged by Iranian strikes. Four people were injured at the airport. On 2 March, the airport has resumed operation with a limited number of flights. On 7 March, the airport again suspended operations following Iranian drone strikes. As of 31 March, the airport is in limited operation due to security concerns.

Air traffic

Main airlines based at DXB

Emirates is the largest airline operating at the airport, with an all-wide-body fleet of over 200 Airbus and Boeing aircraft based at Dubai, providing scheduled services to, Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Australia and New Zealand. It operates out of Terminal 3, Concourses A, B and C.

Flydubai, a low-cost airline planning to operate over 100 aircraft on scheduled passenger services to and from Dubai, to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South Asia. It operates from Terminal 2 and, since December 2018, also from Terminal 3 for selected destinations.

Recreational flying to Dubai is catered for by the Dubai Aviation Club, which undertakes flying training for private pilots and provides facilities for private owners.

The Government of Dubai provides short and long-range search and rescue services, police support, medical evacuation, and general-purpose flights for the airport and all VIP flights to the airport.

Statistics

Tables shown the historical statistics of Dubai International Airport are shown below:

Infrastructure

Dubai International Airport was conceptualized to function as Dubai's primary airport and the region's busiest for the foreseeable future without the need for relocation or the building of another airport when passenger figures increased. The area was chosen near Dubai, to attract passengers from the city of Dubai, rather than travel to the busier Sharjah International Airport. The planned location originally was Jebel Ali.

The original master plan for the existing airport initially involved a dual-terminal and one runway configuration over two phases with provisions for another two passenger terminals in the near future. Phase 1 included the construction of the first passenger terminal, the first runway, 70 aircraft parking bays, support facilities, and structures, including large maintenance hangar, the first fire station, workshops, and administrative offices, an airfreight complex, two cargo agents' buildings, in-flight catering kitchens and an 87 m (285 ft) control tower. Construction for the second phase would commence immediately after the completion of Phase 1 and include the second runway, 50 new aircraft parking bays in addition to the existing 70 bays, a second fire station, and a third cargo agent building.

The third phase included the construction of a new terminal (now the parts of Terminal 1's main building and Concourse C) and an additional 60 parking bays, as well as a new aircraft maintenance facility. Then, in the early 2000s (decade) a new master plan was introduced which began the development of the current concourses and terminal infrastructure.

Paul Griffiths (Dubai Airports' CEO) in his interview with Vision magazine, cited plans to build infrastructure to support the expansion of Emirates and budget airline flydubai and ascend the ranks of global aviation hubs.

Control tower

The 87-metre-tall (285 ft) airport traffic control tower (ATCT) was constructed as part of phase two of the development plan.

Terminals

Dubai International Airport has three terminals. Terminal 1 has one concourse (Concourse D), Terminal 2 is set apart from the other two main buildings and Terminal 3 is divided into Concourse A, B, and C. The cargo terminal is capable of handling 3 million tonnes of cargo annually and a general aviation terminal (GAT) is close by.

Passenger terminals

Dubai Airport has three passenger terminals. Terminals 1 and 3 are directly connected with a common transit area, with airside passengers being able to move freely between the terminals without going through immigration, while Terminal 2 is on the opposite side of the airport. For transiting passengers, a shuttle service runs between the terminals, with a journey time of around 20 minutes from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 and 30 minutes to Terminal 3. Passengers in Terminal 3 who need to transfer between Concourse A and the rest of the Terminal have to travel via an automated people mover. Also after early 2016 when the construction of Concourse D was done, there is now an automated people mover between concourse D and Terminal 1.

Situated beside Terminal 2 is the Executive Flights Terminal, which has its own check-in facilities for premium passengers and where transportation to aircraft in any of the other terminals is by personal buggy.

The three passenger terminals have a total handling capacity of around 80 million passengers a year.

Terminals 1 and 3 cater to international passengers, handling about 85% of the passenger traffic, Terminal 2 is for budget passengers and passengers flying to the Indian subcontinent and Persian Gulf region, and the Executive Flights terminal is for the higher-end travelers and important guests.

Terminal 1 has a capacity of 45 million passengers. It is used by over 100 airlines and is connected to Concourse D by an automated people mover. It is spread over an area of 520,000 m2 (5,600,000 sq ft) and offers 221 check-in counters.

The terminal opened in 1971 as a three-story terminal building with a VIP lounge, 4 piers and 3 floors. The original building featured ogee arches, and still does today, but the piers and domed VIP lounge no longer exist.

The Terminal was originally built within the airport's old building to handle 18 million passengers; however, with extreme congestion at the terminal, the gates were relocated to the newly built Concourse D.

Runways

Dubai Airport has two closely spaced parallel runways, 12R/30L is 4,447 m × 60 m (14,590 ft × 197 ft), 12L/30R is 4,000 m × 60 m (13,120 ft × 200 ft). The gap between the centrelines of the two runways is 385 m (1,263 ft). The runways are equipped with four sets of ILS to guide landing aircraft safely under very poor weather conditions. The runways were expanded to accommodate the Airbus A380 which came into service in 2007. In 2009, it was announced that the airport installed a Category III landing system, allowing planes to land in low-visibility conditions, such as fog. This system was the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates.

In 2013 Dubai Airports announced an 80-day runway refurbishment program which started on 1 May 2014 and was completed on 21 July 2014. The northern runway was resurfaced while lighting upgrades and additional taxiways were built on the southern runway to help boost its capacity. The southern runway was closed from 1 to 31 May 2014, while the northern runway was closed from 31 May to 20 July 2014. Due to extra congestion on one runway, all freighter, charter and general aviation flights were diverted to Al Maktoum International Airport. Flights at DXB were reduced by 26% and 14 airlines moved to Al Maktoum International Airport whilst the runways works were being done. Emirates cut 5,000 flights and grounded over 20 aircraft during the period.

Dubai Airport closed the southern runway (12R/30L) for complete resurfacing and replacement of the airfield lighting and supporting infrastructure. This was done during a 45-day period from 16 April 2019 to 30 May 2019. The upgrade boosted safety, service and capacity levels at DXB. Airlines were required to reduce flight operations at DXB due to single runway operations.

Accommodating the Airbus A380

With Dubai-based Emirates being one of the launch customers for the Airbus A380 and also the largest customer, Dubai Airport needed to expand its existing facilities to accommodate the very large aircraft. The Department of Civil Aviation spent $120 million in upgrading both of its terminals and airport infrastructure, including enlarged gate holdrooms, new finger piers, an enlarged runway, new airbridges and extended baggage belt carousels from the normal 70 to 90 m (230 to 300 ft). Dubai Airport also invested $3.5 billion into a new Concourse A, exclusively for handling Emirates A380s. With the changes made, the airport does not expect embarking and disembarking passengers and baggage from the A380 to take longer than it does for Boeing 747-400s, which carry fewer passengers. On 16 July 2008, Dubai Airport unveiled the first of two specially-built gates capable of handling the aircraft. Costing $10 million, the gates will enable passengers to get on the upper cabin of the new 555-seater aircraft directly from the gate hold rooms. The hold rooms themselves have been enlarged to cater for the larger number of passengers flying the A380s. In addition to the two gates at Terminal 1, five more A380-capable gates were opened at concourse B on 14 October 2008. Concourse A opened on 2 January 2013.

Labour controversy

Workers building a new terminal at Dubai International Airport went on a sympathy strike in March 2006. Another strike took place in October 2007. Four thousand strikers were arrested. Most of them were released some days later and those who were not local were then deported from Dubai.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter services to and from Dubai International Airport:

Notes:

1 Biman Bangladesh Airlines' flight from Dubai to Dhaka makes a stop at Sylhet.

Services

Aviation services

Ground handling services at Dubai International Airport has been provided by Dnata Ground Handling Services.

The Emirates airline has over 2000 Airport Services employees current serving the airport.

Services include cargo ramp and technical support services to airlines at Dubai Airport.

Emirates Engineering, based in Dubai, operates the aircraft maintenance and engine test cell technical facilities at the airport. Emirates Engineering currently provides full support for the Emirates Airline fleet and all the other international operations at the airport.

Current facilities include:

Seven aircraft hangars all capable of handling the A380 (currently the largest aircraft hangar in the world)

Aircraft painting hangar

Aircraft processing plant

Aircraft engine run-up facility enclosure

Engineering Line Maintenance facility

Engine Test Cell

Aircraft spare parts stores

Passenger services

The airport has over 26,000 m2 (280,000 sq ft) of retail space spread between its three main terminals and includes many shopping and eating outlets. The Dubai duty-free shopping area in Terminal 2 covers 1,400 m2 (15,000 sq ft) in departures and 50 m2 (540 sq ft) in arrivals. The 3,437-square-metre (37,000 sq ft) extension included a larger arrivals hall as well.

Extensive upgrading work on existing retail areas since 2004 in Terminals 1 and 2 has increased sales. Dubai Duty Free Company announced annual sales of Dhs5.9 billion (US$1.6 billion) in 2012, representing a 10 per cent increase on the previous year. In 2008, Dubai Duty Free doubled its retail space from 7,000 to 15,000 m2 (75,000 to 161,000 sq ft) with the inauguration of the new Emirates Terminal 3 in October 2008. Dubai Duty Free recorded more than 23.5 million transactions in 2012. As of August 2009, Dubai Duty Free was the biggest single airport retail operation in the world ahead of London's Heathrow and Seoul's Incheon airports.

In addition to a wide array of duty-free shops and eating outlets, Dubai Airport has two open-air garden areas. Dubai Airport has numerous business centres located around the airport. Within the international transit area of the interconnected Terminals 1 and 2, internet and games facilities, prayer rooms, showers, spas, gym, swimming pool and three hotels are provided. Various lounge areas are provided, some including children's play areas or televisions showing news, movies and sports channels. Terminal 3 has a left luggage facility operated by Emirates in the Arrivals area where layover passengers can leave their luggage for a fee while they go sightseeing.

Safety and security

The Civil Aviation Authority of Dubai manages the overall safety and security of the airport. Pre-screening takes place in all terminals at the entrance of the airport. Iris scanning has been implemented in all UAE airports. This type of scanning prevents those deported from the UAE for serious criminal charges from returning again using fraudulent documents.

The airport uses highly sensitive equipment to conduct thorough searches on travellers into the UAE, including screening for smuggling, possessing or taking illegal drugs in the country. A senior Dubai judge was quoted on 11 February 2008, by Seven Days saying, "These laws help discourage anyone from carrying or using drugs. Even if the amount of illegal drugs found on someone is 0.05 grams, they will be found guilty. The penalty is a minimum four years if it is for personal use. The message is clear—drugs will not be tolerated". A number of travellers have been held pending charge while Dubai authorities test their possessions, blood and urine for any trace of contraband.

In 2018, the Houthi rebel group claimed that Dubai airport had been attacked by drones launched by Houthi rebels from Yemen. In response, Dubai Airports stated "With regards to reports by questionable sources this morning, Dubai Airports can confirm that Dubai International (DXB) is operating as normal without any interruption".

Operations

Since there are international flights operating out from the airport, the terminals are equipped with immigration processing facilities and security scanning for all passengers including domestic, and regional passengers. Terminals 1 and 3 handle 95% of the international flights, whilst Terminal 2 mainly caters to regional flights and international flights routed to other airports in Middle East. Emirates Airline operates from only Terminal 3. Conversely, low-cost carriers such as flydubai operate flights out of Terminal 2.

Passenger growth at the airport has been growing at an average rate of 18%. The airport reached its capacity of 33 million passengers per annum by 2007; however, this was still not enough to handle the growing over congestion at the airport. In 2013, the airport's capacity reached 75 million with the opening of concourse A and expansion of Terminal 2.

Passenger traffic for 2014 grew by 7.5% as 70.48 million passengers passed through Dubai International, compared to 66.43 million during the corresponding period in 2013. Growth slowed down in 2014 due to the 80-day runway resurfacing project, which saw DXB operate with only one runway between May and July.

In 2014, India was DXB's biggest destination with 8.91 million passengers. The UK, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan followed with 5.38 million, 4.88 million and 3.13 million, respectively. London Heathrow became the top city destination, recording 2,626,357 passengers. Doha followed it with 2,355,959.

In 2020, Dubai International Airport's first quarter passenger traffic fell down by 67.8 per cent and reached 5.75 million. This is even lower than the statistics presented last year in the same quarter.

In 2022, Dubai International Airport registered strong recovery and robust growth in its customer base that propelled the annual passenger numbers to 66 million. The airport's growth outpaced the annual forecast in the final months of the year following an exceptionally strong fourth quarter.

Cargo

The airport handled 2.37 million tonnes of air cargo in 2014, a decrease of 3.1 per cent over 2013, making it the sixth-busiest airfreight hub in the world and the busiest in the Middle East. The decline was due to the runway closure, and the shifting of many cargo flights from DXB to Al Maktoum International Airport.

Ground transportation

Road

The airport is connected by the road D 89. One of the longest intra-city roads, D 89 begins at the Deira Corniche and runs perpendicular to D 85 (Baniyas Road). From Deira, the road progresses south-eastward towards Dubai International Airport, intersecting with E311 (Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road) past the airport. A road tunnel underneath one of the runways was built in 2003, known as the Airport Tunnel.

Metro

The airport is served by Dubai Metro, which operates two lines through or near the airport. The Red Line has a station at each of Terminal 3 and Terminal 1. The stations are located in front of both terminals and can be accessed directly from the arrivals areas.

The Green Line has at a station near the Airport Free Zone, from which passengers can connect to Terminal 2.

Bus

Dubai Buses operated by RTA run a number of routes to the city, but mainly Deira, and are available at the Airport Ground Transportation center and the Arrivals at every terminal.

Passengers who need to transfer between Terminals 1 and 3, and Terminal 2 can use the inter-terminal shuttle bus service which operates frequently.

Bus stations are situated opposite both Terminal 1, 2 and 3. Local buses CO1, 11, 15, 24, N30, 32C, 33, 64A and 77 can be used to connect with Terminal 1 and 3, while Bus 13B, 20, C26, N30, 31, and 43 connects with Terminal 2. Dubai International Airport Buses provide air-conditioned transport into the city center and over 80 hotels in the city.

Emirates has a complimentary coach service, which operates three daily services to and from Al Ain, and four daily, to and from Abu Dhabi. So does Etihad.

Taxi

The airport is served by the Government owned Dubai Taxi Agency, which provides 24-hour service at the arrivals in every terminal. The Airport Taxi fares are higher than the usual 5 AED fare for normal taxis, possibly as high as 25 dirhams.

Accidents and incidents

On 14 March 1972, Sterling Airways Flight 296 crashed on approach to Dubai; 112 died.

On 20 July 1973, Japan Air Lines Flight 404 was a passenger flight which was hijacked by Palestinian and Japanese terrorists. The flight was hijacked shortly after takeoff from Schiphol and made a stop in Dubai before flying to Damascus.

On 27 December 1997, a Pakistan Airlines Boeing 747, registered AP-BAT, operating a flight from Dubai to London, crashed at Dubai airport after an aborted takeoff. The plane overshot the runway by 300m and went through the perimeter wall before coming to rest. No one died.

On 22 November 1974, British Airways Flight 870, a Vickers VC10, from Dubai to Heathrow, was hijacked in Dubai, landing at Tripoli for refuelling before flying on to Tunis. One hostage was murdered before the hijackers eventually surrendered after 84 hours. Captain Jim Futcher was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal, the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators Founders Medal, the British Air Line Pilots Association Gold Medal and a Certificate of Commendation from British Airways for his actions during the hijacking, having returned to the aircraft to fly it knowing the hijackers were on board.

In 1999, Indian Airlines Flight 814 was hijacked over Indian airspace and tried to land at Dubai, after being prevented from landing in neighboring Oman. With the airport authorities ensuring that the plane could not land by stationing airport equipment and coaches on the runways, the hijacked flight landed at Al Minhad Air Base.

On 21 September 2001, an Aeroflot IL-86 operating as Flight 521 landed gear up after the flight crew forgot to turn on the landing gear circuit breaker. All 322 people on board survived, but the aircraft was written off.

On 17 October 2001, Pakistan International Airlines flight PK231, an Airbus A300, from Islamabad via Peshawar veered off the side of the runway after the right hand maingear collapsed as it touched down. The aircraft skidded and eventually came to rest in sand 50 meters from the runway. The aircraft sustained damage to its right wing structure and its no. 2 engine, which partly broke off the wing resulting in hull loss. All 205 crew and passengers (which included high-profile American political commentator and talk show host Tucker Carlson and his father Dick Carlson) evacuated safely.

In media

In 2013, Dubai International Airport was featured in a 10-part documentary series called Ultimate Airport Dubai that aired on the National Geographic Channel and was produced by Arrow Media and National Geographic Channels International. The documentary focused on the everyday operations of the airport. The series returned for a second season in 2014 and a third in 2015. The series currently streams on popular streaming platform Disney+.