Wealthy people stranded in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict between the US-Israel and Iran have begun digging into their deep pockets to buy flights out of the region.
According to Business Insider and the Associated Press, demand for private flights started spiking last week, with private flight operators reporting “a noticeable increase in enquiries from Friday onwards.”
The demand has pushed the charter costs, especially as the availability of such flights decreases amid continued air strikes and fears of escalation.
"There are an increasingly limited number of aircraft willing and able to fly to and from the area," Glenn Phillips, a PR and advertising manager at global charter firm Air Charter Services, told Business Insider, highlighting how a demand spike and a supply crunch are contributing to exorbitant private flight prices.
"The demand is huge, and we can't deliver enough aircraft to respond to the demand," Altay Kula, CEO of the France-based private jet broker JET-VIP, told AP, echoing Phillips.
Wealthy flyers paying over $200,000
Given the crunch in available private flights, travellers are paying as much as $235,000 for private flights out of the Middle East.
Most demand for private flights out of the region is coming from financial hotspots like Dubai and Abu Dhabi. These cities have, over the past several years, earned a reputation as safe and luxurious destinations for monied tourists and Western expats.
Whereas earlier a private charter flight for 16 passengers from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to Porto, Portugal would cost around $115,000, prices have now risen to $200,000 even for short-haul flights from Dubai to Istanbul, Cairo, and the Maldives.
Flights to Europe and other far-off destinations have begun to cost even more --- Ameerh Naran, CEO of Vimana Private Jets, told Business Insider that the firm was now pricing such flights between $175,000 and $235,000.
"There has been a clear emphasis on speed and certainty of departure, with many clients prioritizing the earliest viable routing rather than specific aircraft types or traditional preferences," Naran said, adding, "We have also seen increased demand for coordinated ground support to facilitate access to airports where airspace remains open."
"This increase in cost reflects the aircraft's scarcity, the repositioning costs as well, and the operator risk assessments. So this is not speculative pricing," Kula told AP on the price increases.
Many of these flights, such as those operated by Air Charter Services, are operating out of Muscat, Oman, and are catering largely to wealthy flyers looking to exit Dubai, the publication added, explaining that these trips also involve a five-hour drive and an additional three-to-four-hour wait at the Hatta border crossing.
Given the travel involved and the wait times required, demand has also surged for luxury, chauffeur services.
Mike D'Souza, the operations coordinator for Dubai-based chauffeur service Indus Chauffeurs, told Business Insider that the "demand appears precaution-driven rather than panic-driven."
