Emirates has rounded off a series of European route launches by starting flights to Madrid.
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EK 141 took off, August 1st for the airline's 104th destination, creating the only non-stop, scheduled passenger link between Dubai and Spain, home of the FIFA World Cup winners.

Salem Obaidalla, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation, said, 'Madrid is our third new European route this year, and together they bring an extra 42 flights per week in and out of the region. The interest in previous years in us starting a service to Spain has certainly been reflected in the strong forward bookings. Now is our chance to bring the superb Emirates' product to the Spanish market.' 
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Amsterdam was Emirates' first new route into Europe in 2010, launching on May 1st. Prague followed on July 1st. Elsewhere, the airline opened a new link to Tokyo in March and flights to Dakar in Senegal begin on September 1st. The airline will return A380 service to New York's John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport on October 31st.