Al Ghusais was used as a Landing Strip in late 1940s/1950s
Ex Military Pilot Freddie Bosworth started an Air Taxi service with demilitarised aircraft
He flew gold from Bahrain into Dubai landing on the subkha sand on Ghusais
1950 Freddie started Gulf Aviation in Bahrain
Freddie Bosworth died in an air crash at Croydon Airport in 1951
Avro Anson Aircraft
Dubai was a small (100,000 population) but ambitious City State by the end of 1960s.
Dubai Airport's Terminal Building was inadequate to meet growing needs.
Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum commissioned Architects Page and Broughton to design a Terminal to meet projected air-transport growth.
Sheikh Rashid hoped to persuade international airlines to use Dubai as a Hub and Transit Airport.
Page and Broughton's design caught Sheikh Rashid's attention. It was ahead of its time in providing passenger facilities to handle modern jumbo aircraft. Restaurants and kitchens serving 400, free-zone shopping area and sleeping accommodation for stranded travellers were unique in the region.
Terminal's design avoided traditional decorative motifs. Instead it employed a visually open and vaulted structure to create an arabesque quality. 56 lightweight, insulated "umbrella" units of glass-reinforced plastic framed by steel supported on reinforced concrete columns formed the roof. The dome over the VIP lounge is also reinforced plastic.
Arrival and Departures were handled on this three-level terminal's second level. Access was by elevated roadway via a flyover (A UAE first!) from the main Airport Road.
Cars parked in open air car parks at ground level. Passengers reached their aircraft by walking from the air conditioned Terminal down spiral ramps onto the tarmac. These ramps were sheltered from the sun but passengers were still exposed to Dubai's heat and humidity until their aircraft was airborne.
Costain Civil Engineering, Ltd., of London was awarded the $10 million construction contract to build Dubai New Airport Terminal Building.
