Private jet prices soar as wealthy scramble to leave Dubai

Iranian attacks on Dubai and the closure of its airport have triggered a scramble among the wealthy to leave the emirates via alternative routes on private jets.

The normally glitzy city – a playground for billionaires, influencers and millions of international visitors – has been on edge since drones and missiles fired in response to US and Israel strikes on Iran damaged the airport and struck several high-profile hotels and landmarks.

The UAE defence ministry said it had continued intercepting incoming missiles and drones on Monday, as the country announced the closure of its embassy in Tehran amid the widening regional war.

Some in Dubai have headed for Oman, a four-and-a-half-hour drive, which has seen little disruption and where Muscat airport continues to operate, albeit with delays.

The majority of commercial flights from Muscat to Europe are fully booked until later this week, according to booking sites.

Alexandra Vavilova, a Russian tourist holidaying in Dubai, said she managed to secure one of the last available tickets out on Monday night: a flight from Muscat to Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, prices for private jets from Muscat have surged, driven by soaring demand and the difficulty of securing planes in the volatile region.

JetVip, a Muscat-based private jet brokerage, told the Guardian that a flight to Istanbul on a Nextant – one of the smallest jets available – now cost around €85,000 (£74,000), roughly three times the usual rate. Seats on private charters to Moscow are going for about €20,000 per person.

Several private jet companies said they were currently unable to deploy aircraft because of the difficulty of positioning fleets in the Middle East.

A representative at the Austria-based AlbaJet charter firm said its “availability was extremely thin”, offering flights to Europe for about €90,000.

“Many aircraft operators won’t perform the flight due to insurance requirements and owner’s decision. So a lot of demand, very little supply,” the representative said.

Others looking to leave the UAE have opted for the longer, 10-hour drive to Riyadh, whose airport remains operational.

Semafor reported that private security companies had been booking fleets of SUVs to ferry clients to the Saudi capital before arranging onward private flights.

Passengers stranded by the closure of Dubai airport wait for assistance in the car park. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP

Ameerh Naran, the chief executive of the private jet brokerage Vimana Private, told the outlet that flights from Riyadh to Europe were now costing up to $350,000.

The disruption has triggered a political storm in Italy after the defence minister, Guido Crosetto, flew home on Monday on an Italian government aircraft, drawing criticism as hundreds of other Italians remained stranded in Dubai.

Crosetto had reportedly been in Dubai on holiday with his family when the US-Israel war on Iran began.

The episode has raised broader questions in Rome about whether the government had been properly briefed on the looming conflict, prompting opposition parties to call for his resignation.

In an apparent effort to limit further backlash, he returned to Italy alone, leaving his family in Dubai. He has said he paid for the flight himself.

Reached by the Guardian, Crosetto said: “I am in my office dealing with far more serious matters, and I do not think that having been stranded, like thousands of other people, is an important issue.”

For most tourists, however, the only option is to hunker down in Dubai.

Dubai’s tourist board has instructed local hotels not to evict tourists who are unable to leave the country because of mass flight cancellations, and to extend their stays on the same terms as their original bookings.

Some Russian tourists, however, complained online that they were told to “pay up” or leave their resorts.

“The receptionist at our hotel told us to contact our booking agency, that it’s not their problem. It’s an awful attitude towards people stranded in a foreign country,” one Russian woman said in a clip circulating on Telegram.

Thousands of western tourists have also found themselves stranded at sea, confined to cruise ships off the Gulf coast as ports across the region grapple with the fallout from Iranian drone attacks.

At least six major cruise ships, each carrying thousands of passengers, are anchored in or close to harbours across the region, their passengers confined to the ships, and in some cases told to stay in their cabins and not go on to their balconies.

Tourists on the cruise liner Mein Schiff 4 photographed black clouds of smoke billowing over the harbour of Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi on Sunday after large explosions there caused by Iranian drones. They told the tabloid Bild they were shocked and scared to see how their holiday paradise had turned into a war zone.

Irina Heaver, a Dubai-based crypto lawyer, wrote on X that friends in the city had split into three camps.

There were those heading for the Omani border, hoping to secure a private jet and make it to “Istanbul by breakfast”.

Others insisted life would continue as normal – “swimming at the beach, sunset walks on the Palm, vitamin D maxing”.

A third group, she wrote, were the “Shelter-in-Place Official Guidance Followers”.