DUBAI AIRPORT 65TH ANNIVERSARY

FROM DESERT BEGINNINGS TO GLOBAL GATEWAY

- BY DEVADASAN K. P. Chief Visual Editor

Over the past 65 years, Dubai International Airport (DXB) has grown from a modest desert landing strip into one of the world's busiest and most technologically advanced aviation hubs.

This photographic journey highlights the airport's extraordinary evolution — a transformation that mirrors Dubai's own meteoric rise on the global stage.

When DXB opened in 1960, it featured a simple sand runway, basic facilities, and a single terminal building serving a small but steadily growing number of passengers. In those early years, the airport stood as a symbol of the young city's ambition to connect with the world, despite its limited resources.