Open With... (.ae project files don't open when the AE app launches)

Odd bug has surfaced. When double-clicking an .ae project file (work in progress) in the Finder, After Effects launches but the project doesn't open. All AE panels are empty as if  the app was launched by itself.

Same thing happens when right clicking on an .ae project file and selecting 'Open With...' [Adobe After Effects 2024.app (default). The project file doesn't open.

The only option for opening an .aep project is to launch After Effects and open the project  via the Menu command 'Open Project...'

This applies to all .ae project files. Other Adobe apps I use, Photoshop, Illustrator etc, don't exhibit this behaviour, double-clicking on a project file launches the app and presents the project.

macOS Sonoma 14.5

After Effects 24.4 (build 47)

Mac Studio M2 Ultra