A new flight path for Emirates cable cars over London

The Emirates Air Line cable car will open next week, transporting Olympic tourists and boosting the carrier's brand profile in the British capital.

The cable car is a river crossing that travels a distance of 1.1km at heights of up to 90 metres between Greenwich and the Royal Docks. AFP

It glides across the London skyline dotted by towers including the famous "Gherkin" building and crosses the Thames on its way to one of the main Olympic venues.

The £60 million (Dh347.3m) Emirates Air Line cable car is set to open in time for this summer's London Games, with a launch scheduled for next Thursday. The cable car is a river crossing that travels a distance of 1.1km at heights of up to 90 metres between Greenwich and the Royal Docks.

Emirates Group has invested £36m in a 10-year sponsorship deal for the project.

Emirates will have its branding on the cable cars, which will run between two new stations, called Emirates Greenwich Peninsula and Emirates Royal Docks. There will also be branded content on television screens inside the gondolas.

"Emirates likes to be at the centre of the action, and a project straddling the River Thames in London provides a superb opportunity to further our presence in the UK, while supporting a new and innovative transport scheme," said Boutros Boutros, an Emirates communications executive. It is estimated that Emirates contributes more than £250m worth of tourism revenue to the UK every year through its flights to cities including London and Manchester.

The cable car is expected to be used by many such tourists, drawn by the views of London, and by commuters.

It will have the capacity to carry as many as 2,500 people every hour in each direction.

"It will open up access to jobs in the Royal Docks enterprise zone and attract businesses and investors to a previously under exploited area," said Boris Johnson, the London mayor .

The cable car also provides a direct link between the O2entertainment venue and ExCel, an exhibition centre, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec).

Both are venues for the Olympics. Adnec acquired the exhibition centre in 2008. It will host seven Olympic events, including boxing and judo, as well as six Paralympic events.

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