200,000 dollars to leave Dubai: the ultra-rich spend fortunes to escape Iranian missiles

“It’s time to leave”: Dubai’s wealthy people are seeking by all means to leave this glittering cosmopolitan tax haven, sometimes spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to escape a regional war whose duration they fear will last.

Between the desert and the sea, the city of the United Arab Emirates has long attracted millionaires, seduced by its advantageous taxation, its security and authorities favorable to entrepreneurship and trade. But when Iranian missiles and drones began raining down on skyscrapers on Saturday, some paid astronomical sums to secure an escape route, with Emirati airspace partially closed and commercial flights extremely rare.

“When we saw the fire, we said to ourselves, ‘OK, it’s time to leave,’” says Evrim, a Turkish resident, in reference to the fire that broke out in a luxury hotel near her house, on the famous archipelago of artificial islands The Palm, after shrapnel from missiles fell. With her husband and their two young children, she paid $200,000 to fly from the neighboring Sultanate of Oman to Geneva, where they plan to settle while waiting for the end of the war.

The family did not want to wait, fearing that the conflict would get bogged down, especially in the event of Saudi Arabia, which controls a large part of regional airspace, entering the war. To reach Muscat, they drove six hours through the desert. “We were very anxious,” she explains. Especially for the children, when they heard the sound (of missile interceptions), they were scared.”

Private jets

The Emirates, targeted according to the authorities by more than 800 drones and 200 missiles, with three deaths to deplore, are suffering the full brunt of Iranian strikes on the Gulf, in retaliation for the Israeli-American campaign. Airports and oil installations, at the heart of the economy, are among the targets affected.

Several foreign governments, including the United Kingdom and Germany, are sending planes to Oman to evacuate their nationals, while a reduced number of commercial flights depart from Emirati airports.

But the wealthiest find alternatives. Glenn Phillips, public relations manager for Air Charter Service, a broker offering international private jet services, says “demand is clearly growing.” “We have already organized a certain number of evacuation flights and others are planned (…), mainly from Muscat,” he explains. While adding that “the route to Oman is the most popular”. However, congestion at the border requires waiting three or four hours.

According to him, prices are soaring due to the lack of planes, many being grounded. Even private jet operators are reluctant to fly due to security concerns.

“Clearly disturbed”

Demand for private cars to leave the Emirates has exploded, says Mike D’Souza, operations coordinator at Indus Chauffeur in Dubai, who notes that his clientele is mainly made up of wealthy Westerners. Many head to Saudi Arabia, where airports still operate, although obtaining visas to the kingdom can be a challenge.

For the most modest, escape is difficult. One British expatriate, who wished to remain anonymous, said it was extremely difficult to find a commercial flight from Muscat for himself, his pregnant wife and their three-year-old son. “Prices are extremely high and seats disappear quickly while you’re trying to book,” he explains.

They finally managed to get a flight to the Indian city of Hyderabad, from where they will fly to Thailand. “Even though my son doesn’t understand what’s going on, it’s clearly upset him and my wife has also been anxious. That said, we deeply love Dubai, which we consider to be our home,” he says. “We fully intend to return once our baby is born and things calm down,” he continues. Without knowing when.