The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority has cut the time required to register a domestic heliport from up to 135 days to just two working days, under a new simplified process. Under the change, heliports operating solely within the UAE no longer need to go through full certification and can instead be approved through a streamlined registration route, while international heliports remain subject to the existing certification requirements.
GCAA director general Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi said the shift from certification to registration for domestic heliports reflects the maturity of the UAE's aviation sector and demonstrates the authority's confidence in a modern, risk-based regulatory approach.
The reform falls under the UAE's Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme, which aims to strip out unnecessary administrative steps across government services. Aviation officials say the faster process is designed to encourage investment in vertical aviation infrastructure and allow new air mobility services to be rolled out more quickly.
The move comes as the UAE's air mobility sector continues to expand, with Dubai and Abu Dhabi both building out vertiport networks to support air taxi operations and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft across major urban and tourism hubs. A shorter registration timeline is expected to make it easier for private operators and investors to bring new heliport and vertiport projects online, reinforcing the UAE's ambition to position itself at the front of the global race in next-generation air transport technology.