# Ultimate Airport Dubai

Ultimate Airport Dubai is a documentary television series which airs on international versions of the National Geographic Channel in more than 170 territories, and available in 45 languages. The program was commissioned by National Geographic Channels International and is produced by Arrow Media.
The series is set in Dubai International Airport and follows staff who are employed at the airport and keep the facility operating, including air traffic controllers, customs officials, ground staff and service personnel. Discussions with the airport operators about being allowed to produce the series began in January 2012.
The first season was filmed from September 2012 to February 2013 and consisted of ten episodes. It premiered on September 5, 2013 in selected regions. The series was renewed following strong ratings globally and locally and a ten-episode second season premiered on December 11, 2014. A third ten-episode season was commissioned on June 12, 2015.

## Episodes

| Season | Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Originally aired |
| Season | Season | Episodes | Season premiere | Season finale |
| | 1 | 10 | September 5, 2013 (2013-09-05) | November 7, 2013 (2013-11-07) |
| | 2 | 10 | October 29, 2014 (2014-10-29) | December 24, 2014 (2014-12-24) |
| | 3 | 10 | October 7, 2015 (2015-10-07) | December 9, 2015 (2015-12-09) |

### Season 1 (2013)

| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original UAE air date |
| 1 | 1 | "Billion Dollar Concourse" | September 5, 2013 (2013-09-05) |
| 2 | 2 | "The Hard Shift" | September 12, 2013 (2013-09-12) |
| 3 | 3 | "Lost Cargo" | September 19, 2013 (2013-09-19) |
| 4 | 4 | "Crystal Customs" | September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26) |
| 5 | 5 | "Domino Effect" | October 3, 2013 (2013-10-03) |
| 6 | 6 | "Stranded" | October 10, 2013 (2013-10-10) |
| 7 | 7 | "Holiday on Delay" | October 17, 2013 (2013-10-17) |
| 8 | 8 | "Missing Passenger" | October 24, 2013 (2013-10-24) |
| 9 | 9 | "Ring the Alarm" | October 31, 2013 (2013-10-31) |
| 10 | 10 | "Dangerous Debris" | November 7, 2013 (2013-11-07) |

### Season 2 (2014)

| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original UAE air date |
| 11 | 1 | "Snakes" | October 29, 2014 (2014-10-29) |
| 12 | 2 | "Firefighters" | October 29, 2014 (2014-10-29) |
| 13 | 3 | "Customs Officers" | November 5, 2014 (2014-11-05) |
| 14 | 4 | "Crystal Meth" | November 12, 2014 (2014-11-12) |
| 15 | 5 | "Faulty Planes" | November 19, 2014 (2014-11-19) |
| 16 | 6 | "Airport Emergency" | November 26, 2014 (2014-11-26) |
| 17 | 7 | "A380 Maintenance" | December 3, 2014 (2014-12-03) |
| 18 | 8 | "Cocaine Customs" | December 10, 2014 (2014-12-10) |
| 19 | 9 | "Racehorses" | December 17, 2014 (2014-12-17) |
| 20 | 10 | "Aircraft Makeover" | December 24, 2014 (2014-12-24) |

### Season 3 (2015)

| No. in series | No. in season | Title | Original Australian air date |
| 21 | 1 | TBA | October 7, 2015 (2015-10-07) |
| Phil faces an emergency threatening to shut down the airport, Mel is pushed to the limit by two drunk passengers, Hassan catches a smuggler who has swallowed cocaine capsules, concourse construction continues and mechanics prepare for a Boeing 777-200 for take-off. ||||
| 22 | 2 | TBA | October 14, 2015 (2015-10-14) |
| Mel deals with 71 angry passengers the fallout of a cancelled flight to Pakistan, Carl carefully deals with incorrectly packed explosives from Germany, Myles tries to keep his multi-billion dollar project on track, and a new system which could revolutionise the airport is trialled. ||||
| 23 | 3 | TBA | October 21, 2015 (2015-10-21) |
| A serious engine problem threatens massive delays, an onboard theft has Mel dealing with drama, Hassan catches a passenger attempting to smuggle diamonds in her body and Paul must find a way to get two 9 tonne escalators through a small doorway. ||||
| 24 | 4 | TBA | October 28, 2015 (2015-10-28) |
| An emergency call from a passenger has Mel dealing with a worst case scenario, Nizel has a critical decision to make regarding a partially loaded cargo plane, a trainee firefighter attempts to put out a fuel fire and Nizalman tests a refurbished engine. ||||
| 25 | 5 | TBA | November 4, 2015 (2015-11-04) |
| George deals with a medical emergency, an Emirates Airbus A380 from Shanghai to Dubai makes an emergency landing at Hyderabad, India due to a medical emergency on board, the ill passenger is safe in Hyderabad and the aircraft is late for about 4 hrs in Dubai, rain leaks into Concourse D threatening a ceiling collapse, two trainee firefighters continue training in a search and rescue exercise, Jo Di Biasi must rush a Chinese tour group from Shanghai which was 4 hrs late due to halt in Hyderabad after a medical emergency onto their connecting flight from Dubai and Lee attempts to fix a lightning damaged aircraft. ||||
| 26 | 6 | TBA | November 11, 2015 (2015-11-11) |
| Engineers attempt to recover two bolts from deep inside a Boeing 777 engine, a Chinese family with no cash are forced to find a way to pay an excess baggage fee, Aref inspects a suspect package which may contain illegal drugs, contractors continue work in Concourse D ahead of a boarding gate test, and trainee firefighters must battle a simulated cargo fire. ||||
| 27 | 7 | TBA | November 18, 2015 (2015-11-18) |
| Mel faces an angry family who have missed their flight, Leigh and Andy replace a plug in a GE90 engine, Concourse D is filled with smoke as part of a fire test, Leigh must repair a blocked toilet on a Boeing 777, and Gemma must unload a late arriving aircraft full of cargo including 20 tonnes of Valentine's Day flowers. ||||
| 28 | 8 | TBA | November 25, 2015 (2015-11-25) |
| A male passenger who possibly has ebola arrives in terminal 3, Leigh must find the source of a strange odour in the cabin of a Boeing 777, Myles prepares Concourse D for an upcoming passenger trial, customs searches a shipment of counterfeit goods and Ian races against time to install decal stickers on an Airbus A380. ||||
| 29 | 9 | TBA | December 2, 2015 (2015-12-02) |
| Leigh tries to find the cause of a hydraulic leak, Myles must fix problems in Concourse D before a wayfinding trial can proceed, Karl deals with top priority aid cargo destined for victims of the Nepal earthquake and a man carrying fake passports is stopped at the border. ||||
| 30 | 10 | TBA | December 9, 2015 (2015-12-09) |
| A smuggler is caught with 2,000 bottles of forbidden medication, Nizel prepares a shipment of $20 million cash and donated human eyes destined for London, and Dubai Airports owner Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum inspects the newly constructed Concourse D. ||||

## Broadcast

The series premiered on National Geographic Abu Dhabi and selected international versions of the National Geographic Channel globally on September 5, 2013. The second season premiered in selected markets globally, including the United Kingdom on October 29, 2014 with two episodes airing back-to-back.
In Australia, season 1 premiered on September 17, 2013 on National Geographic Channel Australia. Season 2 premiered on December 7, 2014.
The third season premiered in Italy on October 5, 2015, in Australia on October 7, 2015, across Asia on October 8, in South Africa on October 15 and the UK on October 28, 2015.