A 9-year-old just became Dubai Airport's 'billionth' traveler

Dubai International Airport is poised to become the busiest airport in the world by the end of this decade ... and the latest figures confirm this.

The airport just marked its billionth traveler, a 9-year-old kid. The boy - now identified as Arjun - arrived to Dubai's airport on Thursday after a 14-hour flight from Orlando, Florida alongside his family. 

In a series of tweets, Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid announced the achievement.

"Dubai International Airport received its one billionth passenger today, marking a new phase in its journey towards a bright future. One billion passengers have made DXB a part of their personal story and helped shape Dubai into a global hub," he wrote.

The boy and his family were greeted by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and CEO and Chairman of Emirates Group, upon arrival to the airport.

Arjun and his family were flying via Emirates when they were selected at random from flight EK220, which was forecast to hold the airport's billionth passenger. 

So, what will they get?

An unforgettable four days at the Atlantis Hotel with a Tesla limousine transporting them all throughout. The family will also get a "guided tour of Burj Khalifa, a personal shopping experience at Dubai Mall, backstage access and tickets to La Perle, a day at the Aquaventure water park and a private desert safari," according to The National.

Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the former ruler of Dubai, ordered the construction of the airport in 1959 and it was operational by 1960. The original airport had a sand runway.

Over decades, the airport has achieved enormous success and international traffic. A new development master plan for the airport was launched in 1997, which saw the opening of Terminal 2 by 1998. This was a massive step forward in opening up the airport to significantly increased international traffic. 

This was followed by the opening of Terminal 3 in 2008, which added capacity for some 47 million additional passengers, transforming the airport into the international hub it is today. 

According to The National, it took the airport 51 years to mark its 500 millionth passenger, but only an additional seven years to get that number up to 1 billion. 

Dubai's airport has consistently been ranked as one of the best in the world. In July 2016, Travel and Leisure ranked Dubai International Airport as No. 2 in the world. The airport was also named as the best in the Middle East by the Asian Freight, Logistics, and Supply Chain Awards that same year.