Israel-Iran war: Some stranded travellers in Dubai pay huge sums for private flights out

Stranded travelers in Dubai pay exorbitant prices for private flights as demand surges amid airport closures due to the Israel-Iran conflict.

Tens of thousands of airline passengers are stranded by the Iran war that has spread across the Gulf region, but some wealthy travellers are getting out — by paying large sums for luxury flights to Europe via airports that are safe from Iranian drone and missile attacks.

Demand for charter flights has skyrocketed, with some people paying up to 200,000 euros ($ 2,32,000) as major airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, Qatar, were closed after the start of the conflict last weekend.

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Travellers from Dubai, usually known as a safe and luxurious destination, are seeking to evacuate by travelling overland either to Muscat, Oman, about a four-hour drive, or to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, more than 10 hours away. Then they board one of the few available commercial flights or take a charter flight, whose costs have soared since the start of the war.

“The demand is huge, and we can't deliver enough aircraft to respond to the demand,” said Altay Kula, CEO of the France-based private jet broker JET-VIP.

Whereas normally a charter flight on a private jet that can accommodate up to 16 passengers from Riyadh to Porto in Portugal may cost around 100,000 euros ($1,15,800) these days, the cost has doubled, Kula said.