The super-rich are paying up to £260,000 to flee the Middle East on private jets, it has emerged.
Wealthy elites are fleeing to Saudi Arabia to evacuate the Gulf, as Iranian missiles and drones rained over Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, and Bahrain last weekend – regions inhabited by the rich and previously perceived to be safe countries.
Riyadh is becoming a key exit route for those looking for a safe route out of the Middle East, as the airport in the Saudi Arabia capital is one of few still operating.
But the journey is costly – private security companies are reportedly booking fleets of SUVs to transport people on the 10-hour drive to Riyadh from Dubai and then are chartering private planes.
Among those being evacuated are senior executives at global finance firms and high-net-worth individuals who were holidaying in the region or were there on a business trip, according to Semafor.
The sharp rise in demand for an emergency exit is pushing prices for SUVs and private jets up, as it has been reported that private jets from Riyadh to Europe now cost up to $350,000 (£260,000).
Saudi Arabia is seemingly the safest country to currently get out of the Middle East, after routes out of Oman were closed following Iran’s strike on the port and an oil tanker in the country on Sunday.
Riyadh hosts one major international airport – the King Khalid International Airport (RUH), about 35km from the city centre. The airport has five passenger terminals and usually flies to Europe, America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
The rich are fleeing from the Middle East through Saudi Arabia on private jets, costing up to £260,000
An empty terminal at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport yesterday. Earlier today, Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry confirmed two drones were intercepted and destroyed
Visa rules have also loosened in Saudi Arabia, meaning many nationalities can get a visa upon arrival rather than in advance, making it appealing as an emergency exit route for many.
Although Saudi Arabia had previously managed to avoid the brunt of Iranian strikes over the weekend, this morning the world’s biggest oil refinery was hit by an Iranian drone.
Saudi Arabia was forced to close the Ras Tanura oil refinery, marking a ‘significant escalation’ in the US-Israel war with Iran, an expert has claimed.
Torbjorn Soltvedt, Middle East analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, said it showed 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’s defence ministry confirmed two drones were intercepted and destroyed earlier today.
In its statement, it did not say the weapons were fired by Iran.
Saudi Arabia’s heavily fortified energy facilities have been targeted previously, most notably in September 2019 when drone and missile attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais plants temporarily knocked out more than half of the kingdom’s crude production.
Ras Tanura was attacked by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in 2021.
