By bus, taxi and even private jet, worried Brits are still joining the exodus from Dubai and other Middle Eastern hotspots as the relentless Iranian drone and missile strikes show no sign of abating.
Some wealthy individuals have chartered private jets for up to £143,000, while others have endured gruelling 12-to-16-hour coach and taxi journeys from Dubai to Riyadh to fly home from Saudi Arabia.
Virgin Atlantic has scrapped services to and from Dubai – with one plane bound for the United Arab Emirates from London Heathrow forced to return after a ‘flight to nowhere’.
British Airways is still not operating flights from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv, following the outbreak of conflict in the region nine days ago – and ongoing Iranian air strikes on surrounding Gulf states.
The airline is concentrating efforts on flights out of Muscat in Oman – only for ‘BA customers who are in Oman or the UAE with an existing booking’.
And the first government flight out of Dubai is not expected until early next week, following the two official services from Muscat to have so far taken place.
The Foreign Office has launched a booking portal for Britons in Dubai wishing to fly back, promising the most vulnerable would be prioritised.
For British executive jet charter firm SHY Aviation, business has been brisk, with more than 400 requests from over 1,000 people keen to use their pricey service – despite it now being about 50 per cent extra due to steeper insurance costs and shortage of available aircraft.
‘We can’t possibly take all the people who have asked,’ said CEO Bernardus Vorster from London. ‘The airspace is very restricted, and our aircraft usually carry about 12 people, so obviously not everyone who called has followed through with a booking.’
Passengers awaiting airline updates at Dubai airport on Saturday after the airport closed again due to drone strikes
Vicky Pattison and husband Ercan Ramadan drove 11 hours to reach Oman in hope of flying back to Britain from there
One family of 12, plus their dog, flew from Oman to Turkey on a chartered flight costing more than £143,000.
Mr Vorster told the Daily Mail that the profile of clients – which includes many Brits – has shifted slightly.
‘As well as those who travel by private jet all the time, we’ve also noticed that there are passengers who could afford private jet travel, but generally flew by scheduled flight. People are adapting to the circumstances they are faced with.’
The company shared a testimonial from one client, who travelled to Muscat from Istanbul and said: ‘I know how busy and stressful things must be right now given the situation, so I truly appreciate how responsive, supportive, and helpful you’ve all been throughout.
‘Your help has made a huge difference and we’re very grateful to the whole team.. Truly amazing.’
Most of SHY’s flights have gone from Muscat, but a few have now been able to depart from the VIP terminal at Dubai’s World Centre (DWC) airport, the smaller sister airport of the world’s busiest international airport, DXB.
Among those taking desperate measures to escape Dubai have been TV personality Vicky Pattison and husband Ercan Ramadan, who drove 11 hours to reach Oman in hope of flying back to Britain from there.
Geordie Shore star Pattison, 32, told social media followers how three previous flights were scrapped, adding that the couple scrapped the idea of flying to Australia or New Zealand and wanted to arrive in the UK ‘as quickly and safely as possible’.
Geordie Shore star Pattison (left), 32, and friends had three flights out of Dubai scrapped
Samuel Leeds, 34, is pictured with his wife Amanda and their children on a private jet
Meanwhile, a self-proclaimed property ‘guru’ who previously insisted Dubai is ‘safer than London‘ told of chartering a ‘£150,000’ private jet out of the emirate and told online followers: ‘I don’t know why everyone is not doing this.’
Samuel Leeds, 34, who sells controversial get-rich-quick training courses online, shared videos from aboard a Gulfstream jet as he headed for Heathrow – while insisting the missile-hit Gulf state was ‘not even dangerous’.
The cost of private charter flights from the Middle East to London, which require long-range aircraft to make the nine-hour journey, is thought to have risen to about £190,000 at one point, but will likely rise as pressure on flights, even from Dubai, is beginning to ease slightly.
Last week, one-way flights from there were topping £2,500, but were today available for about half that.
However, following Saturday’s drone strike on Dubai International Airport, some expat residents or holidaymakers were intent on leaving the UAE by any means possible, and former SAS Gulf War veteran Des Steel has been helping them from a distance.
He has been charging clients a £150 fee to offer them his logistical advice and contacts to arrange transfers from Dubai to Muscat and Riyadh, from where they can board a flight home.
He says his travel manager in Dubai has special software which makes it easier to access airline seats.
The trip home will likely be more than $1,000 in total after paying for the drivers’ fee and the one-way flight.
Manchester-based Des, 63, who fought in the 1991 Gulf War following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, said he and his travel manager take a reasonable commission and their priority is to get people home safely.
Footage taken from social media shows Saturday’s drone strike on Dubai International Airport
Passengers in the terminal at Dubai Airport on Saturday after the airport closed again due to drone strikes
He said: ‘There are ill-advised people out there with money who will pay whatever it takes to get back.
‘And there are companies and individuals who will take advantage of the situation to make some money.
‘I’ve just severed all ties with one transport company in Oman because they were charging too much.’
Up until the Iran drone strikes Des, managing director of Chartsec Security Services Ltd, was flying his team of hand-picked agents in and out of the Dubai daily.
The father-of-two realised he could use the same fixers, contacts and drivers to help get terrified British holidaymakers safely home.
His travel manager books the tickets on schedule flights out of Saudi Arabia and Oman while his drivers get clients to airports.
His English speaking agents pick them up at their homes and hotels in Dubai to drive them to one of the international borders where they are transferred into another vehicle for the onward journey.
Des said: ‘I’ve been busy, I’ve just got a young gentleman holidaymaker home because his mum in Ireland was worried about him.
‘British people in Dubai have realised these routes are open to them and they are making their own arrangements.
‘But my clients get English speaking agents all the way, and they have me at the end of the phone in case of problems. That’s the comfort factor.
‘I’m only charging what people pay for their weekly shopping trip to Sainsbury’s. I am doing it cheap because I’m not here to rip people off. It’s my commission and a fair day rate.’
Des Steel, 64, runs a security company and flies his operatives in and out of the Middle East
Des, who served as a private security consultant for the media in Gulf War 2 says the fear factor is driving up prices for Brits worried about an escalation in hostilities.
He said: ‘I lived in Dubai for six years, I know the attractions for holidaymakers and expats.
‘If I was out there now I’d pour myself a pina colada, go out onto the hotel balcony and wait for it all to blow over.
‘Dubai’s position and the fact that it’s an international flight hub to the Far East means it’s a victim of geo-politics.
‘But when drones are flying in it brings a sharp reality to life.
‘People are thinking they will get out while they can because the door could close indefinitely. Don’t dilly dally, get out while you can.’
Des has heard stories of wealthy individuals paying £350,000 for a 14-seater private jet to fly them out of the United Arab Emirates.
He’s had a steady flow of customers over the last 10 days but he says most holidaymakers are hoping to get one one of the ‘rescue flights’ out of Dubai.
He said: ‘I’ve heard they are flying 1,000 people home today but there are 8,000 people wanting to jump on.
‘But I have friends out there at the moment who are not too worried and will ride it out.
‘I know that area well and I understand the difficulties. I’m happy to give anyone advice. Advice is free.’
The Palm Jumeirah Fairmont Hotel in Dubai was hit and set ablaze by an Iranian missile
The five-star hotel following a drone missile strike last Saturday
It comes as British expats and holidaymakers alike have been telling of the panic to get out of Dubai as the UAE was among the Gulf states hit by Iranian missiles.
Some 14,000 UK citizens alone have flagged to the authorities that they want to get out of the desert city and other sites across the Middle East.
The attacks on surrounding Gulf states have been Iran’s response to US- and Israeli-led strikes which began on Saturday last week and killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Virgin Atlantic has now decided to suspend all journeys between London, Dubai and Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.
All potential flights out of Dubai are currently operating on a limited schedule, as its international airport only partially reopened on March 7.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said today: ‘The safety and security of our customers and our people is always our top priority. Following airport and airspace closures in Dubai and Riyadh on Saturday 7 March, we made the decision to cancel our London Heathrow, Dubai and Riyadh rotations.
‘We have strict criteria that must be met for a flight to continue into a region, and our criteria for proceeding to Dubai and Riyadh were not met, resulting in the safe diversion of these flights.’
The airline said it had been ‘repatriating as many of our customers and people as possible’.
Latest assessments meant a flight from Heathrow and Dubai on Sunday and another making the return trip today had been cancelled – and there will be no more between the two destinations until March 28.
The spokesperson added: ‘Flying to Riyadh is paused for the next two weeks, and will be assessed on an ongoing basis.
‘We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding and will contact any affected customers to discuss their options.
‘We continue to monitor the situation in the Middle East with ongoing dynamic assessments and active changes to our flight routings based on the latest information and guidance, where required.’
Passengers on board a Dubai-bound Virgin Atlantic flight taking off from Heathrow last Friday night endured a 16-hour ‘flight to nowhere’.
Flight VS400 departed at 10.22pm, for what was meant to be the Airbus A350’s seven-hour journey to the UAE’s most populous city.
But after six hours in the hour, and when travelling over eastern Saudi Arabia, airspace was shut down because of ongoing attacks.
Passengers on board a Dubai-bound Virgin Atlantic flight taking off from Heathrow last Friday night endured a 16-hour ‘flight to nowhere’
After turning around, the plane and its passengers landed in the Hungarian capital Budapest on Saturday at 11am for refuelling, spent 90 minutes on the ground and then set off back for Heathrow – arriving shortly before 2pm.
In British Airways’ most recent update, the airline said: ‘We remain unable to operate flights from Abu Dhabi, Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv.
‘We have scheduled further flights from Oman (Muscat) to London Heathrow departing at 02:30 local time on 9, 10, 11 and 12 March. These flights are for BA customers who are in Oman or the UAE with an existing booking.
‘We are constantly reviewing the situation and will continue to do everything we can to support our customers and colleagues in the region and remain in regular contact with them.’
Among those feeling stranded in Dubai has been Paul Hart who told how he and his wife were since the fighting started – and could not travel to Oman for one of the British Government‘s previous repatriation flights.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘If you travel to Oman you have to go to the border and then get another taxi to take you from the border to the airport.
‘My wife suffers from Crohn’s Disease, making it impossible to contemplate a lengthy overland transfer via Riyadh or Oman.
‘My plane was due to depart on February 28. I was actually on board. It was all boarded, and then it came over the airways that, “Sorry, the airspace is closed.”
‘So after four hours, we were able to depart the plane. Fortunately, we were able to get a taxi, and fortunately, we were able to return to our original hotel, because the alternative they provided was booked up within seconds.’
An influencer trapped in a five-star hotel in Dubai described how Britons who have managed to flee the city ‘have been lucky’ as she faces a £3,000 bill in living expenses while she remained stranded.
Lily Mann, 25, arrived in Dubai with her boyfriend James Shires, 33, on February 26 with the intention of a week-long holiday.
The couple has since spent the last two days trying to navigate a way back home after their Etihad Airways flight to Manchester Airport was cancelled, leaving them to either pay upwards of £10,000 each for a one-way flight or to wait indefinitely.
Ms Mann, who also works as a freelance social media manager, told the Daily Mail how ‘the flights home are just not there’.
She said: ‘We have been very, very unlucky and people who have got out have been very lucky.
‘The few flights that are showing are business class or first class seats, which are coming up to around £10,000.’
This has forced them to continue staying in the five-star hotel FIVE Luxe JBR, with the holiday extension costing upwards of £3,000 in holiday costs and dog care.
Photographs of dogs left tied to lampposts in Dubai have been circulating online
Pictured: A pet owner posts an appeal for people to adopt their two dogs
Among those departing by car to Oman instead of hoping for a flight from Dubai International Airport were reality TV star Vicky Pattison and her husband Ercan Ramadan – desperate to get back home to their pet dogs Milo and Max.
She shared photos of their epic journey to Oman on Instagram, telling followers: ‘We’re so sorry for our radio silence over the last week, with everything unfolding the way it was and changing so rapidly we desperately didn’t want to say anything insensitive or hyperbolic that would add to the rising panic around the situation.
‘We really appreciate all your messages of concern and just wanted to reassure everyone that we’re fine.
‘After 3 cancelled flights and the realisation that we definitely weren’t going to make it on to Australia and New Zealand we wanted to try and get home as quickly and safely as possible.’
She went on: ‘I understand that there are a lot of people still in Dubai feeling really calm and safe however, we wanted to be back to our babies, work and normality and we felt like Oman was our best option.’
Elsewhere, father-of-four Samuel Leeds, from Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, prompted an online backlash when telling of his £150,000 private flight out.
Posting pictures of himself and his family inside the jet, Mr Leeds wrote: ‘It was very easy for me to charter this jet back to England.
‘It did cost over £150K, but for me, it was a no-brainer not to let anyone down.’
He added online: ‘If you have the money then getting a jet out of Dubai isn’t a problem.
‘I’m a global citizen with multiple residencies and bank accounts. I have true freedom to be anywhere at any time.’
One critic wrote on Facebook: ‘I don’t care how wealthy you are that is a ridiculous amount to pay for a flight, and to shout about it is embarrassingly crude.’
Another said: ‘If Dubai was so safe, how come you’re taking your wife and your children out of the country while bombs are going off?’
It has also been revealed how pet owners in Dubai are abandoning their animals on the streets to flee the missiles raining down on the Middle East.
Vets have reported an influx in inquiries about euthanising pets as thousands of Brits trapped in the region scramble to get home.
K9 Friends Dubai, a dog re-homing group, said it has become overwhelmed by the number of dog owners wanting to leave their pets behind and phone calls they have received about abandoned puppies.
Animal groups are trying their best to find shelters – but hundreds of posts about deserted pets have been spotted online.
And some vets have had to euthanise even healthy pets because their owners don’t want to face the relocation costs or paperwork.
Claire Hopkins, a resident of Dubai who volunteers with several animal organisations and shelters, said they were under severe financial pressure as fund-raising activities are highly regulated and GoFundMe pages are banned in Dubai.
She said: ‘Some pet owners are stressed and panicking. It’s right across the board, and I think the Brits are better than most, but you’re talking about 200 different nationalities here in the UAE.
‘Some people want to give back their adoptive pets. There are dogs starting to be abandoned.
‘The airlines aren’t taking animals at the moment anyway as the flights are operating a very reduced service. If you wanted to get a rabies jab, then you have to delay your travel by a further three weeks.
‘I’m sorry to say that vets have had inquiries about euthanasia, which is disgusting.
‘Most vets would pass them on to the shelters, but we’re already full.’
