Superjumbo lands in North

On board was a team of air stewardesses, left. Dubai-based airline Emirates flew the 500-seat aircraft into Manchester at the start of daily services between Dubai and northern England.

Emirates has been operating the A380, whose wings are made in Britain, into Heathrow but it was the first time a regional airport has received one.

To accommodate such a big plane, Manchester Airport has spent more than 10m on new fire engines, a new aircraft stand and two bridges to connect the superjumbo to the terminal.

Vice chairman of the Emirates Airline Maurice Flanagan said he was confident that bookings for the A380 would prove that it was money well spent.

''The A380 is proving to be a big hit with our customers," he said. "Our advance bookings are already 20 per cent up."