Dubai - Dubai Media Office posts nostalgic video of DXB in its early years.
Published: Mon 8 Jul 2019, 12:18 PM
Updated: Tue 9 Jul 2019, 7:30 PM
UAE has grown exponentially since 1971, attracting the entire world to its sandy shores as a land of opportunity. Dubai has been one such city that has grown from a small fishing settlement to a thriving cosmopolitan and popular tourist destination.
Also read: DXB's southern runway refurbished in 45 days
Dubai's pull as a tourist hotspot spurred the expansion of its small airport - that opened in 1960 - over the decades. The Dubai International Airport (DXB) has expanded from a small building in the middle of the desert to one of the largest, most busiest and high-tech airports in the world.
The Dubai Media Office tweeted a nostalgic video of DXB, showing snippets of its humble beginnings in 1960 and gradual development over the decades.
The airport first opened in September 30, 1960 with a tiny terminal building and a runway of compacted sand.
At present, DXB passenger numbers have grown at an annual average growth rate of more than 13 per cent - serving more than 88.2 million customers annually, connecting more than 240 destinations across six continents on more than 100 airlines.
DXB handles an average of 7.5 million customers every month and in 2018 broke its own traffic record thrice with more than 8.3 million customers in a month.
The iconic airport welcomed its one billionth passenger, an young boy, last year.
To give some perspectve, DXB took 51 years - from September 30, 1960 to December 31, 2011 - to reach its 500 millionth passenger but clocked the remaining 500 million in just seven years.
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