As unrest in Egypt continues, a veritable flotilla of private aircraft is filling a void left by the disarray of airline transportation at the country’s main exit-point airports. As of Tuesday evening, it’s estimated that more than 1,200 expatriates have been evacuated from Egypt on everything from Lears to A300s. Countries around the world are attempting to get regular airliners into Cairo with mixed results but the stream of private aircraft seems mostly unaffected by the turmoil. As always, expedience has its price.
As demand has increased, so have charter fees. A flight to Cyprus (350 miles) in a business jet is going for $26,000 and a trip to Abu Dhabi is running $100,000. On the forefront of the evacuation effort is Air Partner, which took 800 people out on 14 flights over 36 hours to “safe havens” as far away as the U.S. “Air Partner team members worldwide worked tirelessly throughout the weekend arranging flights out of Egypt for individuals and corporations wishing to safeguard oversees employees from the political unrest currently gripping the country,” an Air Partner statement said.
