Regulators in Saudi Arabia have opened the country's airspace to all commercial carriers worldwide, ending an exclusion of those based in Israel. The kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) disclosed in a 15 July Twitter post that it had opened the country's airspace "for all air carriers that meet the requirements of the authority for overflying" as well as those stipulated in the Chicago Convention of 1944. GACA adds that the decision is "aimed at consolidating the kingdom's position as a global hub connecting three continents, and to enhance international air connectivity". Israeli carriers' international traffic within the Middle East in July is limited to El Al's 24 flights connecting Tel Aviv and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Israeli carriers El Al and Israir began flights to Dubai in December 2020 following the Israeli government's signing of a diplomatic normalisation agreement with its UAE counterparts in September 2020.

UK-based electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) manufacturer Vertical Aerospace has confirmed delivery slots for the first 50 of its pre-existing order for VX4 aircraft from American Airlines, and has secured from the US major a commitment of associated pre-delivery payments. American in June 2021 agreed a pre-order commitment for up to 250 VX4 eVTOL aircraft from Vertical Aerospace. The carrier at the time said it would invest $1 billion in Vertical as part of the deal, which includes an option to order an additional 100 aircraft and a further $25 million investment in the manufacturer through a private investment in public equity. "The commitment to pay pre-delivery payments and confirmation of slot reservations for the first 50 aircraft is believed to be the first of its kind for a major airline in the eVTOL industry, and it marks a significant milestone in the partnership between American and Vertical," the UK manufacturer states. American’s chief financial officer Derek Kerr adds: "Our partnership with Vertical is a great example of progress in our commitment to reducing carbon emissions throughout our airline and the industry." Separately, Vertical disclosed on 15 July that European business jet operator FlyingGroup has "conditionally" pre-ordered up to 50 VX4 aircraft.

Emirates plans to continue its scheduled operations to London Heathrow despite being ordered to cut its services as part of the airport's plans to limit capacity over the summer. The Middle Eastern carrier currently operates six daily A380 services to Heathrow, but was informed by the airport on 12 July that it would have to slash this in order to comply with a 100,000-passenger limit. It says that as well as being given just 36h to comply, it was told which specific services to cancel and warned of legal action in the event of non-compliance. Emirates also complains that the passenger limit appears to be "plucked from thin air". "This is entirely unreasonable and unacceptable, and we reject these demands," states Emirates. In an open letter to passengers published on 12 July, Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye sought to justify the cap by saying new employees were "not yet up to full speed" and the airport was "still significantly under-resourced" in certain critical areas, particularly ground handling. This led to "periods when service drops to a level that is not acceptable", wrote Holland-Kaye. In a bid to reduce queues, delays and last-minute cancellations, Heathrow announced a capacity cap of 100,000 departing passengers a day from 12 July until 11 September – 4,000 fewer than the forecast daily average over the summer and a more-than-50% cut against pre-pandemic levels. Emirates asserts that its ground handling and catering unit Dnata is fully capable of handling the carrier's capacity, meaning that any delivery problems would sit with Heathrow itself. The airline adds that, having operated its current schedule since October, "our operational requirements cannot be a surprise to the airport". Compliance with Heathrow's demands would cause huge disruption for passengers, Emirates argues, given the impossibility of placing them on alternative services amid high load factors, including at alternative airlines and airports. Moreover, the airline is unable to move its operations to other London airports at such short notice. Heathrow's management team is accused by the airline of being "cavalier about travellers and their airline customers". It adds: "All the signals of a strong travel rebound were there, and for months, Emirates has been publicly vocal about the matter... LHR chose not to act, not to plan, not invest. "Now faced with an 'airmageddon' situation due to their incompetence and non-action, they are pushing entire burden – of costs and the scramble to sort the mess – to airlines and travellers." Emirates says it welcomes the action of the UK's Department of Transport and Civil Aviation Authority to seek information from Heathrow on its response plans and systems resilience, and the rationale for its 100,000 cap. "Until further notice, Emirates plans to operate as scheduled to and from LHR," adds the airline. Heathrow has been approached for comment.