The United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority has lifted airspace restrictions across the country, however scheduled flights at two key airports are still reducing. The GCAA says in a 3 May social media post that there has been a "full resumption of normal air navigation operations across UAE airspace" following an evaluation of operational and security conditions. "Our priority remains the safety of our skies, and we continue to maintain continuous, real-time monitoring to ensure the highest levels of aviation safety for all," it adds. Airspace restrictions and some closures have been in place since the start of the Iran conflict on 28 February, with the UAE coming under repeated missile and drone attacks from Iran in early March, including some that appeared to target operations at Dubai International airport. Despite the positive news, Cirium schedules filings processed on 1 May show that, compared to the week prior, carriers have taken 607 weekly flights that were due to depart or arrive in the UAE from their May schedule. From Dubai, Emirates has pulled 518 weekly flights from its schedule for May. Reductions were also noted by Air India Express, Oman Air and Middle East Airlines, while Belarusian carrier Belavia now shows as not operating any flights to Dubai this month, having last week programmed a daily rotation from Minsk. More positively, the filings also show that Flynas will start operating daily services to Dubai from Jeddah and Riyadh, while Indian carrier Spicejet has added twice daily services there from Mumbai. Qatar Airways, meanwhile, is increasing Doha-Dubai flights from daily to twice-daily, but still lower than the 35 weekly flights it operated during May 2025. In Abu Dhabi, home carrier Etihad Airways has withdrawn 51 weekly flights between the two schedule filings, with Royal Jordanian, MEA and Syrianair also cutting back on flights to the UAE capital.

Spirit Airlines plans to spend nearly $11 million on retention incentives to keep key employees during its months-long wind-down. Court documents show that 95 employees will stay for up to three months for "execution and operational close" tasks; 25 will be retained for three to six months for "regulatory and financial close" tasks; and 10 for more than six months for "custodial and litigation" tasks. Spirit says the wind-down depends on retaining employees with "necessary institutional knowledge" and "specialised knowledge and skills" that may be attractive to other employers. With no long-term prospects at the airline and heavier workloads during the wind-down, Spirit proposes a one-time retention payment of 20% to 100% of base salary, payable at the end of the retention period, plus a medical stipend to the selected employees. Total cost, including taxes, is around $10.7 million, averaging about $76,000 per participant. The company also wants to retain three unnamed "mission-critical" senior managers, offering them a one-time incentive from wind-down asset sale proceeds. Spirit ceased operations on 2 May after failing to secure additional funding to continue its Chapter 11 process, which began in August 2025. Some staff have apparently already landed new jobs. For example, Tyler Norman, president and chief executive of Aero Engine Solutions, says in a LinkedIn post that he has "already hired one full-time records professional from the Spirit team" and has "multiple open positions". Meanwhile, the rest of Spirit's staff are set to lose their jobs and medical benefits by the end of the month. Remaining employees will keep health and welfare benefits until 31 May, while those terminated before then may be able to access temporary extended coverage through the Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA) scheme.

Air France-KLM chief executive Ben Smith has vowed to make "the strongest bid we can" for TAP Air Portugal. During the group's first-quarter results call on 30 April, Smith reiterated the strategic importance of acquiring TAP, which, he said, revolved around utilising the geographical position of Lisbon to build on the carrier's routes across the South Atlantic. Smith notes that Brazil, a key destination for TAP, remains Air France-KLM's largest market in the region. "You know, the way we view Latin America has not changed whatsoever," he says. Non-binding offers for TAP were submitted by Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Group at the start of the month. Binding offers are set to be tabled over the coming weeks. Smith confirms that the two groups are the only bidders. He appeared to question some of the previously stated terms of the sale, which have deterred other parties from seeking a position. Asked whether Air France-KLM was content with being restricted to a minority stake in TAP, he responded: "Let's say we cannot say anything about that at this moment. We know what are the conditions from the Portuguese state, and that is the 45% which is for sale… and we are in discussions with the Portuguese state [on] how we get back to that." European airline group IAG said on 7 April that it had withdrawn from the TAP process because "we need a route to full ownership in order to be able to manage and transform the business". The Portuguese government has said it is seeking a buyer for 44.9% of TAP, with the state retaining a majority stake for an initial period. Five percent of shares would be reserved for its employees. Air France-KLM finance chief Steven Zaat adds that the group now plans to do detailed due diligence on TAP before pressing ahead with its bid, covering both the carrier's finances and the legal implications of securing a stake. "That is what we are going to put in place in the coming period. Then we come most likely with a binding offer at the end of July, at the beginning of August," he says.