19 throwback photos show what DXB Airport used to look like — and you won't believe it

Time Out Dubai

03-06-2025

We could be forgiven here at Time Out Dubai for thinking our city is the centre of the universe.
But this wasn't always the case. There was a time when what is now DXB Airport was just an expanse of wasteland on the edge of the burgeoning city.
Over the years Dubai International Airport has undergone a significant amount of change which has seen it grow from just one sandy runway in the desert into the world's busiest airport for international travellers.
You may also like: How much Dubai has changed from the 1960s to today
The visual history of DXB is striking and it's high time we had a look through the archives to see just how much the airport and the city around it have changed.
History of DXB: The early years
Old DXB: Crowds queue up outside Dubai International Airport in 1960 (Credit: DXB Airports)
While Dubai International Airport started life in 1960, the city had served as a stop en route to Pakistan from the UK as far back as the 1930s. Huge flying boats from the old British Overseas Airways Corporation would stop at Dubai Creek on their way to Karachi.
Stopping in Dubai would give these slow, long-haul flights an opportunity to refuel and restock before taking flight once more. And, initially, this was the purpose Dubai International Airport served.
In the 1950s, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai at the time, ordered an airport to be built since there was no direct air service to Dubai.
Curiously, Sharjah did have an airport at this time which was run by the British army. This meant that people who wished to travel to Dubai would first need to fly to Bahrain, take a short flight to Sharjah then drive to Dubai. Changed days indeed.
The initial desert runway of Dubai (Credit: DXB Airports)
By 1960, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum had his wish. Dubai finally had its own airport.
It was built on a 4km expanse of wasteland in Al Garhoud and was only capable of handling aircraft the size of a DC-3 (which could hold between 21 and 34 passengers). But Rome, or rather Dubai International, wasn't built in a day.
Originally, the plan was to build an airport in Jebel Ali but this was thought to be too far from the city. We'll get to that later though.
Middle East Airlines was the first to land in Dubai (Credit: DXB Airports)
The old sandy runway at DXB (Credit: DXB Airport)
The initial runway was sand-compacted and 1,800 metres long with three turning areas and a small terminal capable of handling around 200 passengers per day.
Arrivals would take a matter of minutes as a solo immigration officer processed passports. There would have been two shops at the terminal to check out before walking out to the car park in search of a taxi.
A Middle East Airlines flight was the first to arrive in Dubai. When MEA and Kuwait Airways started landing with four-engined viscounts, the runway was said to blow away.
By 1965, this sandy runway made way for an asphalt one along with a number of other newly built facilities.
A Gulf Aviation Heron plane on the old desert runway in the 1960s (Credit: DXB Airports)
A MEA aircraft on the asphalt runway in the 1970s (Credit: DXB Airports)
The 1970s saw a whole host of changes which set Dubai International Airport on the path to what we know today.
A new three-storey terminal building was built, a traffic control tower was introduced, there were more taxiways, the runway lengthened, aprons were extended, and the airfield added lighting. A lot happened to modernise the airport.
The bigger terminal allowed for an airport lounge to be built which gave passengers a comfortable place to hang out before they flew.
The lounge at Dubai International Airport in the 1970s (Credit: Dubai Airports)
The 1970s saw a whole host of changes at the airport (Credit: DXB Airports)
DXB in the 1970s (Credit: DXB Airport) An aerial shot of DXB in the late 1970s (Credit: DXB Airports) An Air traffic control tower was brought in during the 1970s (Credit: DXB Airports) An aerial view of DXB in the 1970s (Credit: DXB Airports)
History of DXB Airport: Emirates arrives
The 1980s was a transformational period for the airport, as Dubai Duty Free began operations at DXB in 1983, a second runway was installed and Emirates started operations for the first time.
The launch of Emirates came about fairly quickly after the initial idea was proposed in 1984 by Sehikh Al Maktoum. The Dubai National Air Travel Agency launched the airline within five months of it being asked in March 1985.
Emirates took flight for the first time in the 1985 (Credit: Dubai Airports)
The plan for Emirates was simply that it had to 'look good, be good, and make money'. And it's fair to say it's achieved that goal.
You may like: How Emirates went from just two planes to world's biggest airline
Similar to the initial flights all the way back in the 30s which stopped in Dubai on the way to South Asia, Emirates first flights were to Karachi and Mumbai in October of 1985.
And in 1988, more than 4.3 million passengers passed through Dubai International Airport.
Departures at DXB in the 1980s (Credit: DXB Airports)
History of DXB Airport: Terminal 2 opens
As Dubai continued to expand and grow in the 1990s, so too did its airport with a second terminal opening by the end of the millennium.
In 1998, Terminal 2 opened at Dubai International Airport which increased capacity by two million passengers per annum.
Dubai International Airport in the 1990s (Credit: DXB Airports) Dubai International Airport in the 1990s (Credit: DXB Airports)
History of DXB Airport: The modern era
Once we reached the 2000s, things started really ramping up at the airport. In 2002, it was named the fastest growing airport in the world with good reason.
A Dhs2 billion project to expand the airport saw the capacity more than double from 10 million passengers to 23 million as a new concourse was constructed.
The capacity grew once more in 2008 when a third terminal was built which allowed room for 60 million passengers. A year later, 40 million passengers passed through DXB for the first time as work began on another concourse and terminal 2 got a makeover ahead of the launch of flydubai.
And in 2014, DXB became the world's top airport for international passenger traffic as it welcomed 70.4 million people in one year. A title it has held onto ever since.
Dubai Airports 2024 (Credit: DXB)
Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport (Credit: DXB)
DXB: The future
Earlier in 2024, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced plans for a massive Dhs128 billion expansion of the city's other airport Al Maktoum International Airport.
Dubai's second airport is based in Jebel Ali (see, we did get back to it as promised), a part of the city that decision-makers want to develop, and has been in operation since 2010.
A render of plans for Al Maktoum International Airport (Credit: Dubai Media Office)
The plans for Al Maktoum International Airport will eventually see it have capacity for 260 million passengers once complete. Currently, it serves a small fraction of that number.
But plans could take more than a decade to come to fruition. As for DXB? It is unclear what the future holds for the city's current biggest airport once Al Maktoum International is complete.
Flying from Dubai soon?
How to spend your stopover in Dubai – no matter how long you're here for
We've got your To Do list covered
48 hours in Dubai: all the best things to do in two days
Your dream itinerary for a fleeting trip
Revealed: The 5 top holiday destinations for people living in the UAE
Is your favourite in the top five?