Emirates has returned to Stansted Airport this week with a daily long-haul service to Dubai.
The flight on Monday (August 1) was the first by the flag carrier from the Uttlesford hub since March 2020, when Covid-19 paralysed the travel industry.
Since restrictions eased, many airlines and airports have struggled to cope with summer demand from holidaymakers. Last month Emirates rejected “entirely unreasonable and unacceptable” calls from Heathrow Airport bosses to curtail ticket sales to manage passenger numbers.
But in an exclusive interview with the Indie this week (Tuesday August 2) Richard Jewsbury, divisional vice-president in the UK, was confident the carrier and Stansted could deliver the new timetable.
Initially, Emirates planned five departures a week from the Uttlesford base, but flights will operate daily using a Boeing 777-300ER, offering passengers a choice between first, business and economy fares, with the inbound flight EK65 arriving at Stansted at 1.30pm and the outbound leaving at 9.10pm.
Mr Jewsbury said: “We have a very strong working relationship with Stansted and Manchester Airports Group…we have planned the return to Stansted carefully… I’m confident we have a good, stable operation.”
As well as ramping up capacity after coronavirus and recruiting staff to cope with demand, the business has also had to factor Brexit, escalating fuel prices across the globe, the cost-of-living crisis in the UK and the war in Ukraine into its short-to-medium-term strategy.
He said: “It’s something that takes up a lot of time in our team meetings, trying to look forward and imagine what the impact may or may not be.”
But he said: “Demand is holding up very strongly – we have not seen any negative fall out or reduction in demand.”
He remained convinced that the pent -up demand for travel, caused by Covid-19 lockdown, would withstand other economic pressures, with passengers determined to visit family and friends or enjoy a break even if they had to trim other expenses.
As the effects of climate change become ever more apparent this summer, he said demand for flights had not been dented but Emirates was committed to investing in measures to ensure its was an environmentally friendly business in the longer term. “It’s perfectly doable,” he said.
His confidence in the present and the future was echoed by Steve Griffiths, Stansted’s managing director: “The return of daily flights from London Stansted to Dubai with Emirates is fantastic news for the airport and demonstrates the renewed confidence of airlines and passengers as we recover from the pandemic.
“The service proved to be extremely popular following its launch in 2018, so Emirates’ timely return is a huge boost to passengers in London and the East of England, offering not only a vital link between the two destinations but right across the globe thanks to the airline’s worldwide route network available via Dubai.”
Business and tourism bosses have welcomed this week’s development. Pete Waters, executive director of Visit East of England, said: “Attracting more international visitors is crucial to growing the East of England’s year-round visitor economy so establishing this connection between London Stansted and the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai hub will create a lot more opportunity for inbound tourism.”
Denise Rossiter, chief executive of Essex Chamber of Commerce, said: “Essex Chamber of Commerce are delighted that Emirates is returning to Stansted. A re-established Middle East connection will bring new opportunities for trade, tourism and employment for businesses in Essex who are seeking to trade internationally.”
