After a three-week suspension triggered by regional air-space closures, Air Canada on Wednesday resumed its non-stop Toronto–Dubai rotation (AC 056/057), becoming the first big North-American carrier to return to the UAE since late February. Travellers on Reddit’s expatriate aviation thread reported the Boeing 787 departing Pearson at 21:35 EDT on 24 March and landing at DXB just after 19:00 local time today, 25 March. The move follows the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority’s decision late Tuesday to open two tightly-controlled “humanitarian and commercial” corridors over Saudi territorial waters between Flight Levels 320-400. Sources inside the airline say crews are flying an extended routing south of Bahrain with mandatory satellite uplink checks every 15 minutes and flak-vests stored on board, similar to procedures used during the 2014 Ukraine conflict. For global-mobility teams the partial reopening is a double-edged sword. On one hand, North American assignees and project personnel now regain a direct link to Dubai’s financial free zones, avoiding time-consuming European transits.
![Air Canada quietly restarts Dubai service as carriers test new Gulf corridors]()
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On the other, capacity is thin – Air Canada is selling just four flights a week through 6 April – and last-minute economy fares have spiked above US$2,400 one-way. Travel managers are being urged to lock-in seats early, maintain war-risk insurance cover and book fully refundable hotel rates in case the corridor is shut again. Rivals Emirates and Etihad welcomed the “confidence signal” but cautioned that traffic rights remain subject to 12-hour notice of cancellation if missile activity intensifies. Industry analysts say any sustained return of non-Gulf carriers will depend on further coordination between Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Washington to extend the protected air corridor towards the Red Sea.
For travelers now scrambling to organize paperwork, VisaHQ can expedite UAE tourist, business, and transit visas entirely online, offering real-time status alerts and dedicated support through its portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/). The service can be especially useful for corporate mobility managers who may need to rebook personnel at short notice while ensuring entry requirements are fully met.
On the other, capacity is thin – Air Canada is selling just four flights a week through 6 April – and last-minute economy fares have spiked above US$2,400 one-way. Travel managers are being urged to lock-in seats early, maintain war-risk insurance cover and book fully refundable hotel rates in case the corridor is shut again. Rivals Emirates and Etihad welcomed the “confidence signal” but cautioned that traffic rights remain subject to 12-hour notice of cancellation if missile activity intensifies. Industry analysts say any sustained return of non-Gulf carriers will depend on further coordination between Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Washington to extend the protected air corridor towards the Red Sea.
