The Iranian attacks on Dubai and the closure of its airport have sparked a scramble among the wealthy to leave the emirates for alternative routes on private planes.
The normally glitzy city – a playground for billionaires, influencers and millions of international visitors – has been on edge since drones and missiles fired in response to the US and Israeli attacks on Iran damaged the airport and hit several high-profile hotels and landmarks.
The United Arab Emirates’ Defense Ministry said it had continued to intercept incoming missiles and drones on Monday, as the country announced the closure of its embassy in Tehran amid the escalating regional war.
Some in Dubai have headed to Oman, a four-and-a-half-hour journey that has seen few interruptions and where Muscat airport continues to operate, albeit with delays.
Most commercial flights from Muscat to Europe are full until the end of this week, according to booking sites.
Alexandra Vavilova, a Russian tourist on vacation in Dubai, said she had managed to score one of the last available tickets on Monday night: a flight from Muscat to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, prices for private jets from Muscat have soared, driven by growing demand and difficulty in sourcing planes in the volatile region.
JetVip, a private jet brokerage based in Muscat, told The Guardian that a flight to Istanbul on a Nextant – one of the smallest planes available – now costs around €85,000 (£74,000), around three times the usual fare. Seats on private charter flights to Moscow cost about 20,000 euros per person.
Several private jet companies said they were currently unable to deploy aircraft due to the difficulty of positioning fleets in the Middle East.
A representative for Austria-based charter company AlbaJet said its “availability was extremely tight” and was offering flights to Europe for around 90,000 euros. “Many aircraft operators do not fly due to insurance requirements and the owner’s decision. There is too much demand, too little supply.”
Others looking to leave the United Arab Emirates have opted for the 10-hour trip to Riyadh, whose airport remains operational.
Semafor reported that private security companies had been booking fleets of SUVs to transport clients to the Saudi capital before arranging private onward flights.
Ameerh Naran, CEO of private jet agency Vimana Private Jets, told the outlet that flights from Riyadh to Europe now cost up to $350,000.
The outage has sparked a political storm in Italy after Defense Minister Guido Crosetto flew home on Monday on an Italian government plane, drawing criticism while hundreds of other Italians remained stranded in Dubai.
Crosetto was accused of being in Dubai on vacation with his family when the war between the United States and Israel against Iran began.
The episode has raised wider questions in Rome about whether the government had been adequately informed about the coming conflict, leading opposition parties to call for his resignation.
In an apparent effort to limit further backlash, he returned to Italy alone, leaving his family in Dubai. He said he paid for the flight himself.
Crosetto, contacted by The Guardian, said: “I’m in my office dealing with much more serious matters, and I don’t think that being stranded, like thousands of other people, is a major issue.”
However, for most tourists the only option is to take refuge in Dubai.
Confusion over operations at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports increased on Monday, with conflicting reports about departures, cancellations and when flights could resume. Major airlines including Emirates, flydubai and Etihad announced they would resume a limited number of flights, mainly to help repatriate stranded passengers.
Dubai’s tourism board has ordered local hotels not to evict tourists who cannot leave the country due to mass flight cancellations and to extend their stays under the same conditions as their original reservations.
However, some Russian tourists complained online that they were being told to “pay up” or leave their resorts.
“The receptionist at our hotel told us to contact our booking agency, which is not their problem. It’s a terrible attitude towards people stranded in a foreign country,” a Russian woman said in a clip circulating on Telegram.
Thousands of Western tourists have also found themselves stranded at sea, confined to cruise ships off the Gulf coast, as ports across the region deal with the fallout from Iranian drone attacks.
At least six large cruise ships, each carrying thousands of passengers, are anchored in or near ports in the region, their passengers confined to the ships and, in some cases, told to stay in their cabins and not go out on their balconies.
Tourists aboard the Mein Schiff 4 cruise ship on Sunday photographed black clouds of smoke rising over Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Port after major explosions caused by Iranian drones. They told tabloid Bild they were shocked and scared to see how their holiday paradise had turned into a war zone.
Passengers on the MSC Euribia, stranded in Dubai, said their room keys had been reissued and were now valid until March 6, amid expectations that tourists would not be able to leave the ship any time soon.
Irina Heaver, a Dubai-based crypto lawyer, wrote on X that the city’s friends had divided into three camps.
There were those heading to the border with Oman, hoping to get a private jet and arrive in “Istanbul by breakfast time.” Others insisted that life would continue as normal: “swimming at the beach, sunset walks on the Palm, maximizing vitamin D.”
A third group, he wrote, were the “Official Shelter-in-Place Guidance Followers.”
