Emirates is doubling up service to Scotland by starting flights to Edinburgh in addition to Glasgow.
The inaugural Boeing 777-300ER flight touched down at the Scottish capital’s airport yesterday afternoon as the airline’s eighth destination in the UK.
The new route follows the start of Stansted-Dubai flights earlier this year.
The Boeing 777 deployed on the Edinburgh route has a three-class configuration, with eight private first class suites, 42 lie flat seats in business class and 304 seats in economy.
Hubert Frach, the airline’s divisional senior vice president, commercial operations west, said the flight “marks the start of greater connectivity and more convenience for leisure and business travellers from the wider Edinburgh area and locations further afield, such as Aberdeen and Dundee, to destinations across Emirates’ global network via Dubai”.
He added: “While for inbound travellers, particularly from cities in Asia and Australia, there is now a direct flight option to Scotland’s most visited city by tourists.
“In addition to tourism, the new flight will also directly connect Edinburgh to new opportunities for business, trade and education across our network.”
Edinburgh airport chief executive, Gordon Dewar, said: “This is a great day for Scotland and Edinburgh. We know the power of connectivity – the more we can connect with cities and countries across the globe, the more opportunity for passengers. It makes our country stronger and culturally richer.
“Our partnership with a world class brand like Emirates strengthens and grows our country’s connectivity and we look forward to working with them to the benefit of passengers across the world.
“We’ve built our success on making Edinburgh where Scotland meets the world and today’s flight see us take a major step on that journey.”