Emirates (EK), the carrier that has been renamed the world’s best for twelve years straight, welcomed its two millionth passenger at London Stansted Airport (STN) on August 10, 2026, marking a milestone for the airline’s third London gateway since it first launched services there in 2018. The carrier confirmed the milestone in a statement, noting it reflects sustained demand for its services from the Essex airport over the past eight years.
To mark the occasion, one customer on flight EK66, Jeanne Fostel, received an upgrade to Business Class and Emirates Skywards Gold membership, unlocking lounge access, extra baggage allowance, and bonus miles. Eleven other passengers on the same flight were upgraded to Skywards Silver membership. Emirates now operates 14 weekly services between Stansted and Dubai on its Boeing 777 aircraft, connecting customers to a network of more than 135 destinations worldwide.
Stansted has Become Emirates’ Gateway to Southeast England
Over the past eight years, Stansted has grown into an important part of Emirates’ UK network, connecting customers from London and the surrounding regions of Essex, Hertfordshire, Cambridge, and East Anglia with Dubai. Once travelers reach Dubai, they can connect onward to up to 52 destinations across Emirates’ network in Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Dubai accounts for around 30% of the final destinations chosen by passengers travelling with Emirates from London Stansted Airport, while approximately 70% continue beyond Dubai through the airline’s extensive hub network. India, Australia, Thailand and Mauritius are among the most popular onward destinations, highlighting the role of Stansted as a gateway to markets across Asia, the Indian Ocean and the wider region.
Jabr Al-Azeeby, Emirates’ divisional vice president for the UK, attributed the milestone to continued demand since the airline began serving Stansted in 2018. He also highlighted the airport’s accessibility for leisure and business travellers, while pointing to Emirates’ cargo operations as an important link for regional companies seeking additional export opportunities.
Al-Azeeby also credited London Stansted Airport for its cooperation and said Emirates expects the relationship to support continued passenger growth in the coming years.
Gareth Powell, managing director of Stansted, described the milestone as evidence of the strong relationship between the airport and Emirates. He noted that the airline’s arrival in 2018 expanded international travel options for passengers and businesses across the East of England and London, providing direct access to Dubai as well as onward connections across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The opening of an Emirates lounge at Stansted in 2024 further strengthened the carrier’s presence at the airport. The facility also represented an investment in the passenger experience and demonstrated Emirates’ longer-term commitment to the airport and the surrounding region.
Powell also pointed to Stansted’s own trajectory: the airport surpassed 30 million annual passengers for the first time in 2025 (as reported by Air Service One) and has since secured planning permission to grow capacity to 51 million passengers a year over the next two decades.
Service Scaled from Once Daily to Twice-Daily Boeing 777 Flights
Emirates launched its first Stansted flight in June 2018 on a once-daily schedule. The route proved popular enough that the carrier added a second daily service within a year, pausing only during the pandemic before returning to Stansted in August 2022 and restoring double-daily frequency by mid-2023.
Today, Emirates operates two daily services between Stansted and Dubai using its four-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, which offer First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy, and Economy cabins. The airline added Premium Economy at Stansted as part of a multi-billion dollar retrofit programme last year, giving customers on both daily flights access to the cabin. In 2024, UK Civil Aviation Authority data show Stansted carried more than 436,000 Emirates passengers with a seat load factor of 83%, above the airline’s network average.
Stansted Sits Inside Emirates’ Record 13-flight-a-day London Network
Stansted is one of three London airports Emirates serves, alongside Heathrow and Gatwick, and the milestone comes as the carrier pushes its combined London frequency to record levels. Emirates scheduled up to 13 daily flights across the three airports for winter 2025-26, a level Cirium data shows the airline had not previously reached, with Heathrow growing to seven daily flights and Gatwick rising to four.
By August 2026, that combined schedule had grown further still, with Emirates operating 12 daily London flights using a mix of Airbus A380 and other widebody aircraft across the three gateways during the summer peak. Industry data attributes part of the frequency race to competition from Qatar Airways and joint-venture partner British Airways, which expanded Doha-London flights to a record 14 times daily from October 2025.
Emirates has also invested directly in the Stansted passenger experience. The airline opened a dedicated 900-square-meter lounge at the airport in 2024, representing more than GBP 4 million in investment. The lounge accommodates up to 125 guests, including First and Business Class passengers and Emirates Skywards members.
Cargo Operations Add to Stansted’s Economic Contribution
Beyond passenger traffic, Emirates uses Stansted as a cargo hub for the region. In addition to belly-hold cargo on its passenger aircraft, the airline operates a weekly freighter service out of the airport, moving around 25,000 tonnes of cargo in and out of Stansted each year.
That cargo includes pharmaceuticals, high-value goods, medical equipment, and industrial machinery, giving businesses across Essex and the wider region export options to markets beyond Europe. The freighter service complements Emirates SkyCargo’s broader network, which the carrier expanded during its most recent financial year with the addition of five new Boeing 777 freighters.
All in All
The two-million milestone at Stansted is a small figure next to Emirates’ overall passenger volumes, but it reflects a broader UK strategy built on frequency growth across all three London airports rather than concentration at Heathrow alone. Stansted itself is expanding in parallel, having welcomed five new airlines over the past year and secured approval to nearly double its passenger cap over the next two decades.
For Emirates, sustaining growth at Stansted alongside record group profit and an aggressive hiring plan suggests the airline intends to keep investing in secondary UK gateways even as it competes for London’s most lucrative long-haul market. Whether that translates into a third daily Stansted service remains unconfirmed, but the airline’s own statement said it looks forward to “welcoming many more travellers onboard in the years ahead.”
