GCAA confirms UAE airspace back to normal; carriers begin schedule rebuild

A day before the blanket lifting of restrictions, the General Civil Aviation Authority issued a bulletin announcing the “full resumption of normal air-navigation operations” across Emirati skies. Posted on X at 15:48 GST on 2 May, the notice formally cancelled altitude restrictions that had capped flights at 26,000 feet over large swathes of the Gulf and removed mandatory slot-coordination procedures that had slowed arrivals at Dubai International by up to 25 %. Arab News quoted GCAA officials as saying that the step followed a detailed security review with the Ministry of Defence and regional partners. The regulator stressed that contingency corridors remain mapped and can be re-activated within minutes, highlighting the new normal of “dynamic risk-based airspace management” in the Gulf. Airlines therefore continue to advise travellers to download carrier apps and enable push notifications for last-second gate or timing changes. Etihad Airways told corporate clients it would rebuild its long-haul network in phases. The first wave restores daily frequencies to Sydney, Chicago and Paris by 6 May, with secondary Asian points to follow. Emirates said it is reinstating 92 % of its pre-crisis seat capacity this week, prioritising high-yield business routes such as Dubai–New York JFK and Dubai–London Heathrow. Cargo subsidiary Emirates SkyCargo reopened its DWC freighter hub on 3 May, a key development for electronics and pharma shippers that had diverted consignments to Jeddah during the airspace crunch. Travel-management companies (TMCs) urge organisations to verify that all previously cancelled segments have been re-booked correctly. Many tickets were auto-refunded or placed in open status during March’s blanket ground-stop; unclaimed PNRs will not automatically reactivate. Firms with group movements scheduled for late May should also watch for rolling crew shortages that could still trigger ad-hoc consolidations. Immigration advisers note that the end of diversions means the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security is again applying standard rules: visitors stranded by cancellations must regularise status or face AED 50 per-day overstay fines.