Emirates’ inaugural flight to London Stansted touches down

TOUCHDOWN: Emirates also serves Heathrow and Gatwick, both serving the South/South West area of London and South East region

The first flight on a new Dubai to London route has touched down at Stansted, the first time Emirates has served the Essex hub. 

The Emirates Boeing 777-300ER touched down just after 2 pm on Friday (June 8). London Stansted is now the seventh airport in the UK from which Emirates operates and brings to 10 the number of daily flights between Dubai and three different London airports, with Stansted joining Gatwick and Heathrow.

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’s CEO.

Hubert Frach, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, said: “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.

“There’s been a real appetite for increased connectivity between the thriving business community in the East of England and our global network too. The new gateway will support the swell of new start-ups, SMEs and established businesses in the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor by giving them access to new cities and countries across the globe.”

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. With floor to ceiling sliding doors and sleek design features, the new First-Class suites take luxury to the next level. The aircraft also sports newly-designed seats and upgraded inflight entertainment systems in all cabins. It was first unveiled at the Dubai Air Show in 2017 and this will the first time UK travellers are able to experience the updated product.

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.

Ken O’ Toole, CEO of London Stansted, said at the event: “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.”