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When Samuel Lait launched his private jet flights firm focused on pet travel in Dubai, UAE on Saturday, he was expecting to receive queries from owners looking to travel with their pets between the glitzy Gulf hub and the UK.<\/strong><\/p>\n Instead, PetX \u200bJets\u2019 inbox is full of requests from all sorts of passengers \u2013 from young adults and pregnant couples right up to the elderly \u2013 wanting to \u200cleave the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as conflict engulfs the region, forcing countries to close their airspace and stranding tens of thousands of people.<\/p>\n The US.-Israeli campaign against Iran entered its seventh day on Friday and threatens to escalate beyond the Middle East, leading many people to seek to leave the region, and in turn generating a surge in prices for private jet hire.<\/p>\n \u201cThe original idea was to \u200btransport pets and their owners between the UK and Dubai primarily. And that\u2019s very much changed since Saturday,\u201d Lait said.<\/p>\n Private pet travel is becoming increasingly \u200bpopular in Dubai, UAE with several firms launching in recent years, boosted by an influx of high net-worth individuals to the Gulf business \u2060hub and offering solutions for some of the challenges posed by commercial flights, such as pet size and breed limitations as well as cargo transport stress.<\/p>\n Indeed, the \u200bglobal pet travel industry is a booming market, opens new tab expected to be worth around $4.6 billion by 2032, with the Asia-Pacific region seeing major growth. Recent reports suggest more than 40% of \u200bmiddle-aged travelers and nearly a quarter of seniors are now taking their pets with them on trips.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to sort of move with what\u2019s happening,\u201d Lait said, adding that the company had been planning to operate its first charter service in June originally but may now launch sooner than that.<\/p>\n While UAE airports \u2013 usually among the world\u2019s busiest \u2013 have gradually been resuming flights, they are still operating \u200bat a fraction of their capacity, leading many residents and travellers to explore alternative ways to leave the region such as crossing the border into Oman and Saudi Arabia \u200band flying from there, including via private jets.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the escalation of tensions in the region, we have seen a significant increase in bookings \u2026 every 10 minutes we have requests, every 20 \u200cminutes. I \u2060mean, the request is very important at the moment,\u201d said Altay Kula, CEO and founder of France-based private jet broker Jet-VIP, which operates in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Kula said leaving the region is currently complicated due to the airspace closures, meaning many people are \u201cseeking solutions to leave the Middle East, particularly Dubai and Qatar,\u201d with flights from Riyadh and Muscat.<\/p>\n However, while the opportunity is there, challenges remain for potential customers and operators alike.<\/p>\n Both Lait and Kula said prices for charter flights from Dubai have leaped since the conflict \u200bbegan, making it hard for some clients \u200bto afford the trip.<\/p>\n The typical price \u2060for a Jet-VIP flight between Dubai and Istanbul was $50,000 for a light jet carrying six people and $110,000 for heavier aircraft able to transport up to 15. Those fares have now doubled to $100,000 and $200,000 respectively.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the flights that we were offered initially \u200bwere out of Oman. So the prices there were still astronomical because the demand has obviously gone through the roof,\u201d \u200bsaid Lait, complaining of \u2060the cost of using the aircraft. He said he is \u201ctrying to reason\u201d with aircraft brokers and providers as his company looks to start operations.<\/p>\n Kula described the scarcity of slots as traffic spikes in Oman\u2019s Muscat and in Riyadh as another challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes it can take up to 24 hours just to have the authorisation to go to Oman and to pick \u2060up the \u200bpassengers,\u201d he said, adding that the company is trying to operate from Dubai, but airspace restrictions make \u200bit hard to obtain slots there.<\/p>\n For the time being, Lait\u2019s PetX Jets is in wait-and-see mode.<\/p>\n \u201cOur aim is to really try and hold out until the Dubai airspace opens and those aircraft become more in \u200bline with the prices that we\u2019ve seen in the weeks and months leading up to Saturday,\u201d Lait said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n