Stansted Airport has opened up direct services to the Middle East in an historic alliance with Emirates – handing another huge boost to the Cambridge and East of England business community.

Emirates will launch a daily service from June 8, 2018 utilising new three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Emirates becomes the first Middle Eastern airline to operate out of the popular North East London airport. The service will connect businesses from the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor with Emirates’ global network of over 154 destinations worldwide.

On top of North American services recently announced, Stansted management has opened up a new world of opportunity for companies in the Cambridge cluster, which is Europe’s No.1 science & technology hotspot.

The aircraft chosen for the service is fitted with game-changing, fully enclosed private suites in First Class, as well as refreshed Business and Economy Class cabins.

Outbound, flight EK33 will depart Dubai at 09:30hrs, and will arrive in London Stansted at 14:10hrs. On its return, flight EK34 will depart London Stansted at 21:10hrs and arrive in Dubai at 07:05 the following day.

Opening the London Stansted gateway was a strategic decision by Emirates to serve the thriving business community in London’s north east and the wider 7.5 million population that fall within its catchment area. 

Hong Kong, Dubai, Shanghai, Singapore and Mumbai are the most popular business destinations from the East of England, which Emirates serves daily through its Dubai hub. Leisure travellers can enjoy direct, daily services to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Bali and the Indian Ocean islands.

More than 25 of the world’s largest corporations have established operations in the wider Cambridge and Peterborough area, with Airbus, AstraZeneca and GSK amongst the multi-national companies based there. Such businesses have helped establish the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor as one of the top five global knowledge regions, alongside world-leading San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Boston.

Laurie Berryman, Emirates vice-president for the UK said: “The introduction of the new London Stansted-Dubai route not only signifies 10 daily flights between Dubai and three different London Airports, but is also welcome news to businesses based in the Stansted catchment area who, before now, travelled to central London to fly to airports with global reach.

“The additional gateway will also prove useful to the new start-ups and existing SMEs, which form a growing section of the Cambridge business community. We pride ourselves as an airline in connecting people and economies and the addition of the Stansted gateway is the latest on our growing network.”

Ken O’ Toole, London Stansted’s CEO, added: “We’re delighted that Emirates has recognised the strength of London Stansted’s catchment and the opportunity that our available runway capacity gives them to continue growing in the South East of England over the next decade.

“At this crucial time, the new Emirates services will provide an important boost to the UK economy by strengthening international connectivity and offering greater choice and convenience for passengers travelling to long haul destinations.

“London Stansted has seen significant capital investment and growth since its acquisition by MAG in 2013 and we’re looking forward to working with Emirates as we move forward with the next phase of development of the airport and its network of destinations.”

Stansted will also be vital for Emirates’ SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates and the world’s largest international cargo airline, due to its large cargo handling capabilities.
 
The carrier connects cargo customers to over 154 cities across 84 countries in six continents and flies 140,000 tonnes of cargo in and out of the UK in an average year.