With commercial flights suspended or severely limited in neighboring aviation centers, Saudi Arabia is stepping in to manage the overflow, facilitating the movement of passengers out of the region and assisting in the repatriation of individuals stranded abroad.

Demand for private evacuation services has surged sharply. Wealthy expatriates are reportedly paying between $150,000 and $200,000 for comprehensive evacuation packages. Private jet bookings have increased by about 40 percent since Saturday, reflecting the growing urgency among travelers seeking to leave the region.

Short-haul extraction flights, such as those from Muscat to Riyadh, are costing approximately $30,000, while long-distance charter flights to Western Europe are priced at nearly $100,000, according to aviation sources.

Riyadh has become a principal evacuation hub for wealthy residents and senior executives seeking to leave the Gulf amid escalating regional tensions. Citing people familiar with the arrangements, Semafor reported that private security firms have been hiring fleets of SUVs to transport clients to the Saudi capital before arranging chartered aircraft departures.

Those being evacuated include senior figures at global financial institutions as well as affluent individuals who had been in the Gulf for business or leisure. The surge in demand has sharply increased costs, with companies paying tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to evacuate employees from Dubai, and the cost of private jets and hire vehicles soaring. The total cost of evacuating one family with two adults and two children had reached as high as $250,000, one insurer said, for employees who end up using private jets.

Source: Times of Kuwait