FLASH
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Iranian attacks on Dubai and the closure of its airport have caused a push among the wealthy to leave the Emirates via alternative routes on private jets.
The usually glittering city, a playground for billionaires, influencers and millions of international visitors, has been in turmoil since drones and missiles launched in response to US and Israeli attacks on Iran damaged the airport and hit several high-profile hotels and landmarks.
The United Arab Emirates' defense ministry said Monday it had continued to intercept incoming missiles and drones, as the country announced the closure of its embassy in Tehran amid the escalating regional war.
Some in Dubai have headed to Oman, a four-and-a-half-hour drive, which has seen few disruptions and where Muscat airport continues to operate, albeit with delays.
Most commercial flights from Muscat to Europe are fully booked until the end of this week, according to booking sites.
Alexandra Vavilova, a Russian tourist vacationing in Dubai, said she had managed to secure one of the last available tickets on Monday evening: a flight from Muscat to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, private jet prices from Muscat have risen sharply, driven by rising demand and the difficulty of securing aircraft in the volatile region.
JetVip, a private jet brokerage based in Muscat, told the Guardian that a flight to Istanbul on a Nextant, one of the smallest jets available, now costs around €85,000, roughly three times the usual price. Tickets on private charter flights to Moscow cost around €20,000 per person.
Several private jet companies said they were currently unable to deploy planes due to the difficulty of positioning fleets in the Middle East. A representative at Austrian-based charter flight firm AlbaJet said its “availability was extremely low,” offering flights to Europe for around 90,000 euros.
Others who want to leave the United Arab Emirates have chosen the 10-hour drive to Riyadh, whose airport remains operational.
Semafor reported that private security companies had booked fleets of SUVs to transport clients to the Saudi capital before arranging further private flights.
Ameerh Naran, the executive director of private jet brokerage company Vimana Private Jets, told the media that flights from Riyadh to Europe now cost up to $350,000.
The rift has caused a political storm in Italy after Defense Minister Guido Crosetto flew home on Monday on an Italian government plane, drawing criticism while hundreds of other Italians were stranded in Dubai. Crosetto was reportedly in Dubai on vacation with his family when the US-Israeli war against Iran began.
The episode has raised wider questions in Rome about whether the government was properly informed of the impending conflict, prompting opposition parties to call for his resignation. In an apparent attempt to limit further backlash, he returned to Italy alone, leaving his family in Dubai. He has said he paid for the flight himself.
However, for most tourists, the only option is to stay in Dubai secretly. The Dubai Tourism Board has instructed local hotels not to evict tourists who are unable to leave the country due to mass flight cancellations and to extend their stays under the same terms as their original bookings.
However, some Russian tourists complained online that they were being told to “pay up” or leave their resorts. Thousands of Western tourists have also found themselves stranded at sea, locked on cruise ships off the coast of the Gulf, as ports across the region grapple with the fallout from Iranian drone attacks.
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