Wealthy residents and high-profile visitors to Dubai and other Abu Dhabi are paying up to 200,000 dollars for private flights to available hubs such as Istanbul, Cairo, or the Maldives, , according to HuffPost Spain. They are taking the land road to Oman or Saudi Arabia, where airspace is at least partially open, and continue their trip by plane.
Queues of up to four hours are lined up at the Hatta border crossing, connecting the UAE with Oman.
Once in Oman, they take charter flights that can cost up to $200,000. Private flights to European countries cost between $175,000 and $235,000, or between €150,000 and €200,000, Ameerh Naran, CEO of Vimana Private Jets, told Business Insider.
Glenn Phillips, a PR and advertising manager at global charter firm Air Charter Service, said the number of available aircrafts willing and able to fly from the region is decreasing, according to Business Insider.
Private aviation firms describe a clear emphasis on speed and certainty of departure. Clients opt for the first feasible route rather than the most convenient, with dedicated staff coordinating airport access and overflight permissions as the map of open airspace shifts by the hour.
Georgina Rodríguez and Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly left Saudi Arabia for Madrid with their five children in their private jet. The couple had been emblematic of a wave of international stars basing themselves in the Gulf for work and family life.
Over the last decade, celebrities, entrepreneurs, influencers, and content creators were drawn to the region’s investment opportunities, business prospects, favorable tax frameworks, and discretion. That allure is what Lindsay Lohan cited when she moved to Dubai in 2014. She sought privacy and described the change as a refreshing contrast that helped her feel grounded, connect with everyday life, and prioritize time with family. Amid the latest escalation, Lohan posted a brief appeal for peace on social media and urged people to take care.
Spain’s King Juan Carlos, who relocated to the United Arab Emirates in August 2020, has moved from his usual residence in Abu Dhabi to a hotel in recent days and is described as well and calm. Ana Boyer and her husband, tennis player Fernando Verdascohas, are longtime Doha residents. They are awaiting the birth of their fourth child after a decade living in Qatar. The couple paused travel and public engagements in Spain. “We are well and with the hope that this will end soon,” Boyer said, according to El Correo.