Members of the global economic elite are reportedly paying up to £260,000 to leave the Middle East on private jet amid escalating missile and drone attacks in the region.
According to a Daily Mail report, wealthy businessmen and high-ranking executives of large financial groups are seeking immediate exit from the Gulf, following the Iranian missile and drone attacks that hit Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, and Bahrain last weekend — areas that were previously considered safe and attracted high-level international capital and tourism.
Riyadh is becoming a primary escape route, as the King Khalid International Airport (RUH), about 35 kilometers from the center of the Saudi Arabian capital, remains operational, unlike other exit gates from the area. The airport has five passenger terminals and connections to Europe, America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
However, the move comes at a high cost. Private security companies are reportedly chartering fleets of SUVs to transport passengers on a roughly 10-hour journey from Dubai to Riyadh before they board private jets. The increased demand for “escape routes” has driven up prices, with private jet flights from Riyadh to Europe costing up to $350,000 (approximately £260,000).
Among the departing passengers were high-ranking executives of international financial institutions, as well as high-net-worth individuals who were in the area either for vacation or business, according to Semafor.
Saudi Arabia appears, for the time being, as the safest exit from the Middle East, especially after the closure of routes through Oman, following an Iranian attack on a port and a tanker on Sunday. Meanwhile, visa rules have been relaxed, with many nationalities able to obtain a visa on arrival, making the country more accessible as an emergency departure option.
Although Saudi Arabia had avoided the main wave of attacks over the weekend, earlier today it was announced that an Iranian drone hit the world’s largest oil refinery in Ras Tanura. The authorities have temporarily shut down the facility, an action that has been characterized as a “significant escalation” of the US-Israel conflict with Iran.
Torbjørn Soltvedt, a Middle East analyst at risk analysis company Verisk Maplecroft, said the attack shows that the Gulf’s energy infrastructure is now “in Iran’s sights,” adding that the blow may bring Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states closer to a possible military involvement alongside the US and Israel.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense also confirmed that two drones were intercepted and destroyed earlier today, but did not specify in the announcement whether they were from Iran.
Saudi Arabia’s energy facilities have been targeted in the past. In September 2019, drone and missile attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais facilities temporarily reduced the country’s crude oil production by more than half. Ras Tanura was also attacked in 2021 by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen.
In this environment of increased risk, escape by private means becomes an option for those with the financial resources, with the cost reflecting the demand and uncertainty in the wider area.
Source: Daily Mail
