Emirates has celebrated the inaugural flight of its new daily service from Dubai (DXB) to London Stansted (STN).
The flight marks the first time an international airline based in the Middle East operates out of the popular London airport, and connects the East of England with Emirates’ global network of over 155 destinations via its hub Dubai.
The Emirates Boeing 777-300ER touched down just before 14:00.
London Stansted is now the seventh airport in the UK from which Emirates operates and brings to ten the number of daily flights between Dubai and three different London airports, with Stansted joining Gatwick and Heathrow.
The aircraft deployed on the route is Emirates’ new three-class Boeing 777-300ER, featuring its state-of-the-art, fully-enclosed private suites in first class, and refreshed business and economy class cabins.
To celebrate the airline’s arrival to the airport, Emirates and Stansted airport held a launch event for local dignitaries and stakeholders, hosted by Hubert Frach, Emirates divisional senior vice president, commercial operations west, and Richard Jewsbury, divisional vice president, UK, alongside Ken O’Toole, Stansted Airport chief executive.
“We decided to add London Stansted to our network because we saw an opportunity to directly connect the local community with some of the world’s most popular leisure and business destinations.
“Previously, London’s north east, and the wider 7.5 million people that live within Stansted’s catchment areas had to travel into the city, or further, to access airports with global reach.
“Now, this daily flight to Dubai connects passengers seamlessly to Emirates points across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australasia,” said Frach.
More than 25 of the world’s largest corporations have established operations in the wider Cambridge and Peterborough area, with Airbus, AstraZeneca, ARM and GSK amongst the multi-national companies based there, and the new route will provide easier trading and business connections for British companies.
Such businesses have helped establish the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor as one of the top five global knowledge regions, along with world-leading Silicon Valley and Boston.
O’Toole added: “Today is a truly significant moment in the history of London Stansted and we are delighted that our millions of passengers, based in London and the east of England, will see huge benefits from the direct connectivity between the airport and Emirates hub in Dubai and its vast array of onward connections.
“In 2018 Stansted is set to be the fastest growing London airport and a key enabler of economic growth for both the UK and east of England, and the addition of the new Emirates service will provide a further boost to our long-haul ambitions and ultimately save local passengers valuable time and money that is associated with flying from other airports across London.”
The daily flight from Dubai to London Stansted departs Dubai at 09:30 and arrives in London Stansted at 14:10.
The return flight departs London Stansted at 21:10 and is scheduled to arrive in Dubai at 07:05.
