Commercial aviation in and out of the United Arab Emirates is still operating through Emergency Security Control of Air Traffic (ESCAT) corridors, a regime first imposed at the height of February’s missile-and-drone barrage and reconfirmed in a Gulf-wide security sit-rep released on 17 April 2026 by UK risk-consultancy Solace Global. Under ESCAT, every airline movement must obtain individual departure and arrival slots cleared by the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority and the joint military-civil Air Operations Cell. Slot approvals are issued only a few hours before departure, forcing carriers to publish rolling short-notice timetables and leaving corporate travel managers little room for contingency planning.
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Although no attacks have struck the UAE since 14 April, Solace warns that airspace could shut with “minimal advance warning” if the fragile US-Iran cease-fire collapses when it expires on 21 April. Kuwait’s skies are completely closed, Bahrain’s are technically open but plagued by cancellations and Qatar remains accessible only to its flag-carrier. In the UAE, Dubai International (DXB), Dubai World Central (DWC) and Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International (AUH) are running about 60–70 per cent of their pre-war schedules; passengers are advised not to proceed to the airport unless directly contacted by their airline. For businesses, the biggest headache is unpredictability: client meetings, project mobilisations and high-value cargo movements can still go ahead, but only if travellers build in generous buffers and ensure flexible hotel and car-rental bookings. Mobility teams are also reminding assignees that filming or live-streaming missile interceptions is illegal under UAE cyber-crime laws—Dubai Police this week confirmed an arrest after monitoring a private WhatsApp group. Practical tips: keep PNRs in airline apps with push-notifications switched on, maintain duplicate bookings on alternative routings via Muscat or Riyadh, and brief travellers on the risk of heavy fines for sharing ‘rumours or false news’ about security incidents on social media.