Apparatus and methods particularly suited for drying tissue grade paper. In certain embodiments, a wet web, such as a web exiting a tissue manufacturing machine, is transferred to an air floatation dryer with specially arranged air bars and impingement nozzles described herein where the wet web is dried while still at least partly supported by an air-permeable belt. In certain embodiments, the specially arranged air floatation dryer comprises one or more air floatation dryer units through which the wet web is conveyed by way of a supporting endless loop or belt of air-permeable construction. The air bars and opposing impingement nozzles are so arranged as to force the web into contact with the belt and then subsequently lift the web from the belt surface in a repetitive and alternating fashion as the web and belt travel through the dryer.