Emirates launches London Stansted service

STANSTED (England), June 10 (Gulf News): A first Emirates flight between Dubai and Britain's Stansted Airport touched down on Friday last, making it the first scheduled long-haul airline to fly to London's third busiest airport as the city's two bigger hubs are almost full.

The UK government wants to expand Heathrow Airport, the busiest in London, Britain and Europe, but a new runway won't be ready until 2026, which Stansted said will give it an opportunity to grow its connections to the rest of the world.

Emirates, which already operates nine daily flights between London and Dubai from Heathrow Gatwick, said that it was also attracted to Stansted because of the travel demand it expects from the 25 multinational companies, such as AstraZeneca and GSK that have bases on the Stansted side of London.