1959: Construction of Dubai airport commences 4km from Dubai
1960: Airport opens with the ability to handle DC-3 planes
1965: New Asphalt runway built
1969: Nine airlines operated to Dubai airport with 20 destinations
1970: New three-storey terminal building, a new control tower, additional taxiways, lengthening of the runway, extension of aprons, airfield lighting and landing instruments.
1980: Dubai International became a member of the Airports Council International (ACI) as well as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
1984: A second runway, equipped with the latest meteorological, airfield lighting and instrument landing systems to give the airport a Category II classification, was opened in April 1984.
1998: Terminal 2 was opened, taking Dubai airport’s capacity by two million passengers per year
2000: Terminal 1 opens at a cost of Dh2 billion increasing the airport’s capacity to 23 million per year
2002: Dubai airport became the aviation hub of the Middle East and handled 18million passengers per year.
2015: Dubai Airport become the world’s busiest airport for international travellers, overtaking London’s Heathrow airport.
