VIDEO: Dubai Airport to feature in behind-the-scenes TV show

Dubai International Airport is to star in a 10-part, behind-the-scenes TV series showing its dramatic daily life.

Cameras from Fox International were given unprecedented access to the three terminals and captured everything from emergency landings to smugglers being intercepted by customs.

The series, which will debut on September 5 on the National Geographic channel, follows some of the 60,000 staff who work to keep the airport safe, secure and on schedule.

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Just over half a century ago, the site of Dubai International was nothing more than desert. Terminal 3 alone is the world's biggest building, covering the size of 359 football pitches.

Today the airport is a cultural crossroads where people from around the world land in a melting pot of language, customs and religion.

The series, called 'Ultimate Airport Dubai', captures air traffic controllers handling emergency landings and their reaction to an in-flight medical emergency with injured passengers. With a plane taking off or landing every 92.5 seconds, the ATCs have one of the most stressful occupations in the world.

Viewers will also see what it takes to keep DXB’s 90km baggage system going and will see inside Emirates’ massive engineering hangar to see how engineers keep the A330-200 in operation.

Camera crews were even invited to join aircraft engineers on a high-speed test flight where pilots push the plane beyond the limits during normal passenger travel after the replacement of a multi-million dollar engine.

The construction of the new A380 concourse also features in the series and reveals the battle to fix leaky pipes, find missing materials and the push to get the job finished ahead of an inspection by a member of the Royal Family.

A spokesman for the series-makers said: “It takes an army of well-trained staff, the latest technological advancements, and an enormous amount of space to safely operate the world’s second busiest airport for international passengers.

“Ultimate Airport Dubai provides viewers with an all-access ticket to the various divisions of this expanding airport, which is poised to one day become the world’s busiest for international travel. “Dubai International‘s continued success is not only instrumental in facilitating Dubai’s tourism and business industries, but it’s also an employment powerhouse that helps to keep the region’s economy booming.”

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