The Emirates AirLine – a cable car spanning the River Thames in London - has opened to the public.

The £60 million venture, which will be sponsored by Emirates for the next decade, links the O2 Arena in Greenwich on the south bank of the river with the ExCel exhibition centre at the Royal Docks on the north.

Operators say the service can carry up to 2,500 people an hour.

A single adult fare on the pay-as-you-go Oyster card will cost £3.20 while the cash fare will be £4.30, Transport for London confirmed earlier.

The service will operate through the week from 07:00 until 21:00.

Emirates will pay an estimated £36 million to have its name associated with the project for the next ten years.

It is the first branded station to appear on the iconic London tube map.

The opening of the Emirates AirLine one month ahead of the London Olympics marks a successful turnaround for London mayor Boris Johnson, who backed the Thames cable car project from its fruition.

Despite initial setbacks and fears that the project would not be ready in time for the Games, the early opening means tourists and spectators during the London Olympics will be able to travel both easily and exhilaratingly between key Olympic venues around the River Zone.

The O2 will host the London 2012 gymnastic, trampoline and basketball events, while the ExCeL Centre will be home to the Olympic boxing, fencing, table tennis, martial arts and wrestling events.