Ultra-rich elite pay up to $350,000 to flee Middle East on private jets

Wealthy individuals and senior corporate executives are paying as much as $350,000 for private jet charters out of the Gulf, as escalating hostilities involving Iran have shaken confidence in what were long perceived as safe regional hubs.

The Daily Mail, citing Semafor, reports that high-net-worth individuals and senior executives at global finance firms are among those seeking emergency departures after Iranian missiles and drones struck targets across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar and Bahrain last weekend. Many of those leaving were in the region on business trips or holidays.

With several regional air routes disrupted, Saudi Arabia has emerged as a key exit corridor. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport remains one of the few major hubs in the Gulf still operating regular international services.

Private security companies are reportedly arranging 10-hour SUV convoys from Dubai to Riyadh before chartering aircraft onward to Europe and other destinations. The surge in demand has sharply inflated prices for both ground transport and private aviation, with some flights from Riyadh to Europe now costing up to $350,000.

Saudi Arabia’s comparatively accessible visa regime has further enhanced its appeal as an emergency transit point, with many nationalities eligible for visas on arrival.

However, the kingdom itself has not been immune to the widening crisis. On Monday, the world’s largest oil refinery at Ras Tanura was struck by what Saudi authorities described as a drone attack. The facility was temporarily closed, marking what analysts called a significant escalation in the confrontation involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said two drones were intercepted and destroyed earlier in the day, without specifying who launched them.

Torbjorn Soltvedt, Middle East analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, said the attack indicates that Gulf energy infrastructure is now “squarely in Iran’s sights.”

“The attack is also likely to move Saudi Arabia and neighboring Gulf states closer to joining U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran,” he said.

Saudi energy infrastructure has been targeted in the past. In September 2019, coordinated drone and missile strikes on the Abqaiq and Khurais facilities temporarily knocked out more than half of the kingdom’s crude oil production capacity. Ras Tanura itself was previously attacked in 2021 by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

By Khagan Isayev