- Dozens of private jets owned by Russian oligarchs are grounded in Dubai.
- The Wall Street Journal reported more than 100 planes were backed up at Dubai airports.
- Dubai may seem like a safe haven for luxury assets, but sanctions effectively restrict their use.
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Private jets owned by Russian oligarchs who flew to Dubai to seek refuge from sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine are effectively stuck there, The Wall Street Journal reported.
It has led to a build-up of more than 100 aircraft sitting idle at Dubai airports since the war began. The journal cited satellite imagery and data from aerospace research firm WINGX.
According to WINGX’s website, “The Russia-UAE route is three times busier than before the pandemic, with 49 outbound flights in the first week of March, but only two-thirds of the outbound flights in the last week of February.”
Satellite images taken by earth-imaging company Planet Labs also show a cluster of private jets from mid-February to early April, according to The Journal.
When Russia attacked Ukraine, Western nations banded together to punish Russia for its actions by imposing a variety of sanctions. The sanctions aimed to destabilize not only Russia’s economy, but also some of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies.
Many Russian oligarchs and billionaires have had some of their most luxurious assets confiscated as a result of the sanctions. Last month, for example, Gibraltar seized a $75 million superyacht owned by billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky.
Some of Russia’s wealthiest have found sanctuary in places that have not imposed sanctions, including Dubai and the Maldives.
Four private jets were spotted departing from Moscow for Dubai in March, according to flight tracking site Flightradar24. Unlike Western destinations, Dubai has not banned Russian air travel.
But when those jets fly to Dubai to avoid sanctions, they get stuck there because Russian jet owners have nowhere else to fly them, aviation lawyers and private jet brokers told The Journal.
“A lot of Russian-related aircraft have moved to the UAE because you can fly in the airspace there,” Steve Varsano, CEO of a London-based private aircraft sales brokerage firm, told the publication. “But when you get there, you’re pretty down because you can’t service the planes.”
Recently, the US Department of Commerce imposed sanctions preventing Russian-linked aircraft from being refueled, serviced, or repaired. As a result of the war, major aviation companies, including Boeing and Airbus, also stopped supplying spare parts to Russian airlines.
Experts recently commented on sanctions against oligarchs, with one telling CNN he believes they are mostly “symbolic”.