Emirates Unveil UK’s First Urban Cable Car in Time for Olympics

Emirates Air Line, ask the UK’s first urban cable car, was officially launched today as the British capital gears up to host the London 2012 Olympics.

Dubai-based Emirates Airline signed an US$55.5m, ten-year sponsorship deal to rebrand the cable car service, the most expensive such system ever built, in October.

The 1.1km cable line, which crosses the River Thames, has the capacity to carry up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction and offers views across the City of London, Canary Wharf, Greenwich, the Thames Barrier and the Olympic Park.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, Emirates Airline president Tim Clark and London’s Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy CBE, attended the first official flight.