'Ok, time to go': Cabs, cash and twisted routes to escape Dubai

By Leen Al-Rashdan and Rthvika Suvarna

  Across the Middle East, stranded travelers are being forced to improvise byzantine routes out of the widening war zone as commercial airlines put most of their regional services on hold. 

The barrages of missiles and interceptors flying over the hubs of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha forced nations to close their airspaces, putting the onus on visitors to chart their own ways home. Those odysseys typically involve make-shift arrangements, long drives through the desert — and often considerable sums of cash. 

 

Among those navigating their way home was Kalie Moore, who found herself stuck in Doha after a safari in Kenya. Just as she was ready to board her connecting flight back to Berlin, the projectiles started flying, and Qatar closed its airspace. After waiting with thousands of other passengers at the airport, she checked into a nearby hotel, where the staff gave strict instructions to stay inside.

 

 

“It was actually pretty crazy because in the morning you woke up to the missiles being intercepted,” Moore said.

 

Realising that the airspace wouldn’t be reopening anytime soon, Moore decided to leave Doha for Saudi Arabia, where flights were still operating. Teaming up with another traveler, they found a driver who would take them on the six-hour journey to Riyadh for $1,000.

 

And while there are plenty of accounts of well-heeled crypto millionaires and glamorous influencers being whisked away in fancy Range Rovers and private jets, the reality for the vast majority has been far more mundane. In Moore’s case, her $1,000 ride was an old Toyota, and the pair switched cars and drivers at the border and ate at gas stations along the way. 

 

Moore then booked a British Airways flight back home via London that cost another $2,000.

 

Her hopscotching journey is one that many have done in the past few days, including Italy’s defense minister and Russian tennis players stranded after playing in a Dubai tournament. The UK government said 130,000 nationals have signed up for notifications from authorities, and some countries are working with airlines to bring their people back home.

 

Adding to the exodus was a US State Department official who urged Americans to leave countries across the Middle East. The notification went viral, with many employees of international companies in Dubai contacting their firms to find out if it would trigger evacuation plans.

 

Some businesses are indeed mobilizing to evacuate their people from a city that’s long been considered a safe haven amid the turbulence. Macquarie Group Ltd. was among those that extracted some employees overland via Saudi Arabia and Oman from Dubai. 

 

Many of those still stuck in places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi have identified two principal escape routes: via Saudi Arabia or to Oman’s Muscat International Airport, where operations are normal and the drive from Dubai can be made in just under five hours.

 

Those braving the trip need to prepare for multiple taxi rides, and lots of patience. Since the airspace closed, traffic has built up considerably, with hundreds of buses and cars making the same drive. There’s also no guarantee of making it to Muscat.

 

“One day it was all open and no queue,” said Karim Gharbi, the head of Arton Capital’s private jet concierge and global mobility service. “The second day was too many people going, then the Oman border is closed.”

 

Gharbi’s companies helped relocate more than 40 people to Oman, including families and couples. Bodyguards accompanied some to make them feel safe and to help fast-track them through border checks, he said.

 

One client was tech entrepreneur Thierry Carbou, 49, who’s lived in Dubai for 15 years. He was having lunch on Saturday at a beach club when he started hearing explosions above.

 

The French and Canadian dual national went back to his apartment in the landmark Burj Khalifa skyscraper and was talking with his family when a large blast hit City Walk, just across from the tower.

 

“You hear this huge explosion, then this black smoke,” he said. “We looked at each other, and we said, ‘OK, time to go.’”

 

On advice from Arton Capital, they drove to Ras Al Khaimah, a city about an hour’s drive north of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Along the way, Carbou said he could see air defense systems firing.

 

Since arriving, the atmosphere has been calm: hotels are operating and people are at the beach, much like a normal day in Dubai.

 

“No panic,” Carbou said.