Dubai International Airport
Facts on DXB
Dubai wanted the code 'DUB' but Dublin, Ireland got there first, so Dubai International settled on DXB, using 'X' as the filler letter IATA commonly assigns when a city's preferred letters are already taken.
Source: The National
DXB's Terminal 3, which opened in 2008, is officially the largest airport building in the world by floor space according to Guinness World Records, covering 1,185,000 square meters -- roughly the area of 94 football fields.
Source: Guinness World Records
Dubai International has held the title of the world's busiest airport for international passenger traffic for three years running, handling about 95.2 million international travelers in 2025 according to Airports Council International.
Source: ACI World
Civil aviation in Dubai began in July 1937, when an agreement leased land for a flying-boat base to Imperial Airways for about 440 rupees a month, including guards' wages; Empire flying boats then ran a weekly eastbound service to Karachi and westbound to Southampton.
Source: Wikipedia
Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, ordered construction of the airport in 1959; it opened on 30 September 1960 with a 1,800-meter runway made of compacted sand, able to handle aircraft the size of a Douglas DC-3.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport's first purpose-built international terminal, opened in the 1970s, was designed with slender columns spreading into squares at their tops to resemble stylized palm trees, plus four inclined piers reaching the apron by helical ramps and a golden dome-shaped VIP suite.
Source: Wikipedia
Dubai International's Terminal 3 is the largest airport terminal in the world by floor space and the fourth-largest building of any kind on the planet.
Source: Wikipedia
Emirates runs the largest airline hub in the Middle East out of DXB's Terminal 3, handling 51% of the airport's passenger traffic and about 42% of its aircraft movements; low-cost carrier Flydubai adds another 13% of passengers and 25% of movements.
Source: Wikipedia
In 2025, Dubai International registered more than 454,000 aircraft movements and handled over 2.2 million tonnes of cargo, and remains the world's busiest airport for Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 movements.
Source: Wikipedia
In July 2019, Dubai International installed the largest solar energy system of any airport in the region, part of the city's broader goal of cutting energy consumption 30% by 2030.
Source: Wikipedia
DXB is intended to eventually close once the expanded Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) is fully operational and takes over as Dubai's main airport.
Source: Wikipedia