Whilst I agree with you to some extent, EK do not provide suitable connections for UK passengers going to the USA/Canada and yet there hasn't been that much expansion to airports in these countries. It is very possible that if it wasn't for EK, we still wouldn't have massive amounts of long-haul destinations to the east. If anything, EK is putting the airport on the map as an airport with some decent long-haul connections, not just a short-haul airport.