Dubai national carrier Emirates has rounded off a series of European route launches by starting daily non-stop flights to Madrid, Spain.

The new Madrid flight EK 141 took off this morning 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.

An Airbus A330-200 is being deployed on the route, offering 12 seats in First Class, 42 in Business and 183 in Economy, said an Emirates statement.

EK141 departs Dubai daily at 0750hrs and arrives in Madrid at 1345hrs. EK 142 leaves the Spanish capital at 1525hrs and gets into Dubai at 0030hrs the following day.

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,' he added.

Amsterdam was Emirates' first new route into Europe in 2010, launching on May 1 followed by Prague on July 1. Elsewhere, the airline opened a new link to Tokyo in March and flights to Dakar in Senegal begin on September 1.

Celebrating the new Madrid service, Emirates has partnered with Atlantis, The Palm’s award-winning restaurant Ossiano, established by renowned three-star Michelin chef, Santi Santamaria.

An icon of the culinary world, Chef Santi's epicurean delights can be enjoyed by First and Business class passengers travelling between Dubai and Madrid over a three-course offering, the statement said.

On the cargo side, Emirates SkyCargo has been operating Boeing 747 freighter flights to Spain since 2006. Each year, SkyCargo transports, on average, more than 7000 tonnes of fashion garments from Zaragoza to Dubai.

Ram Menen, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president, Cargo, said: “The Madrid flight is a tremendous opportunity for us to build on the success of a firmly established trade route and further strengthen the economic ties between Spain and the UAE.'-TradeArabia News Service