A Dubai-based entrepreneur who launched a pet travel service last Saturday found himself overwhelmed with evacuation requests instead of the animal transport inquiries he expected, as Middle East tensions drive desperate residents to seek private jet escapes.
Samuel Lait’s company PetX Jets was designed to ferry pets and their owners between Dubai and the United Kingdom, but regional conflict has transformed his business model overnight. His inbox now overflows with requests from travelers of all ages – young couples, expectant parents, and seniors – all seeking passage out of the United Arab Emirates.
The ongoing U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran reached their seventh day Friday, with the crisis threatening to spread beyond Middle Eastern borders and prompting mass exodus attempts from the region.
“The original idea was to transport pets and their owners between the UK and Dubai primarily. And that’s very much changed since Saturday,” Lait explained.
“We’re trying to sort of move with what’s happening,” he added, noting his company may accelerate launch plans originally scheduled for June.
Major UAE airports, typically ranking among the globe’s busiest aviation hubs, are operating at severely reduced capacity despite gradual flight resumptions. This limitation has pushed many residents and visitors to seek escape routes through neighboring Oman and Saudi Arabia, often utilizing private aircraft services.
Altay Kula, who heads France-based private jet brokerage Jet-VIP with Middle East operations, described the overwhelming demand surge since regional tensions escalated.
“Since the escalation of tensions in the region, we have seen a significant increase in bookings … every 10 minutes we have requests, every 20 minutes. I mean, the request is very important at the moment,” Kula stated.
According to Kula, current airspace restrictions have complicated departure logistics, driving clients to “seek solutions to leave the Middle East, particularly Dubai and Qatar,” often through Riyadh and Muscat airports.
Despite the business opportunity, both operators face significant obstacles, particularly skyrocketing charter costs that have priced out many potential customers.
Jet-VIP’s standard Dubai-to-Istanbul routes previously cost $50,000 for six-passenger light jets and $110,000 for larger aircraft accommodating 15 travelers. These rates have now doubled to $100,000 and $200,000 respectively.
“A lot of the flights that we were offered initially were out of Oman. So the prices there were still astronomical because the demand has obviously gone through the roof,” Lait observed, expressing frustration with aircraft costs as his startup attempts to begin operations.
Kula identified another challenge: limited airport slots as traffic surges at Muscat and Riyadh facilities.
“Sometimes it can take up to 24 hours just to have the authorisation to go to Oman and to pick up the passengers,” he explained, adding that his company prefers Dubai operations but faces slot availability issues due to airspace restrictions.
For now, Lait’s PetX Jets remains in holding pattern, waiting for conditions to improve.
“Our aim is to really try and hold out until the Dubai airspace opens and those aircraft become more in line with the prices that we’ve seen in the weeks and months leading up to Saturday,” Lait concluded.
