Dubai International Airport has moved up to No. 2 in the world for international departures. Thus, if you travel enough, even from the United States, the likelihood is increasing that you will land in Dubai.

This is not hard to figure out. Asia’s east and its subcontinent have been the sites of much of the world’s economic growth over the past couple of decades, and Dubai is neatly located about half way from London/Paris to Beijing/Singapore.

It also is a convenient jumping off place for numerous cities in India and the 1.2 billion people there. Too, the notion of a domestic flight is almost unheard of, in the UAE. The country is too small. Nearly every plane that takes off, from DXB, is headed to another country.

Plus, Dubai continues to rise as a tourist destination. Many travelers are headed to Dubai to stay for a week or three, and not just to change planes. Especially travelers from the colder regions of Europe. (Come winter, Dubai is lousy with Russian oligarchs.)

How do the five busiest airports for international flights now stack up? The list:

1. London Heathrow

2. Dubai International

3. Paris Charles de Gaulle

4. Hong Kong

5. Amsterdam Schiphol.

A year ago, Dubai was still behind Paris and Hong Kong.

Atlanta continues to be No. 1 in the world in airport passenger traffic, with Beijing second and Dubai 10th. And when it comes to takeoffs and landings, U.S. airports held the top seven spots, led by Atlanta and Chicago, as of 2010, with Dubai not in the top 30.

In The National story linked, above, in the first paragraph, the man who runs DXB suggests it will soon pass Heathrow and be No 1 in international flights, in part because the London airport has nowhere to grow.

(I thought London Gatwick was supposed to relieve the pressure on Heathrow, and I landed there more than once in the 1980s … but I can’t tell you the last time I was at Gatwick. Heathrow may be a madhouse, but it’s far closer to central London.)

Air travel is a big deal, here in the UAE. Abu Dhabi International is expanding steadily, and when Dubai’s new airport, Dubai World Central, comes on line, in October, it is set to be the biggest airport in the world, in terms of square miles.

(The new airport will be handier for residents of Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital. DXB is at least 90 minutes from Abu Dhabi, and more like two hours when traffic is bad. The new airport will be on the southwestern edge if the city, in Jebel Ali, about 30-60 minutes closer to Abu Dhabi.)

A couple of decades ago it was unlikely anyone in the West (Europe, or the Americas) would have a reason to go through Dubai, and people in the western hemisphere were not likely to know where Dubai was.

Things change. Just as veteran travelers have been through Heathrow, CDG and Frankfurt … some day Dubai will be on the list, too.