Funeral For Saudi King Abdullah Sees World Leaders Flying Into Riyadh
As the news of the death of Saudi Arabia’s king, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud, spread last night, condolences and remembrances began pouring in from all corners of the globe.
Abdullah officially came into power in 2005, after the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. The late Saudi king was praised as a “wise leader” who dedicated his life to his country, and many countries including Bahrain, Jordan and the Palestinian territories have declared days of mourning.
Due to Islamic tradition, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud is planned to be buried today, within 24 hours of his death. Thousands are expected to gather today at the Grand Mosque in Riyadh to attend the funeral services for the late king, including Turkey’s President Recept Tayyip Erdogan, who postponed his planned trip to Mogadishu to attend the funeral.
Many other leaders, royals, and relatives around the globe are expected to attend the funeral, changing planned itineraries at short notice. PrivateFly has seen an uplift in private jet enquiries and flight bookings to Riyadh in the last 24 hours, from locations throughout the world, including those currently attending Davos. Due to the circumstances and time constraints, many are using private jets as their mode of transportation.
This is a high-profile example of how private jet flights are well-suited to emergency flight situations. Bespoke flight plans can be arranged within one hour, with no airport delays, and often with the ability to drive right up to the plane steps. Additionally, private jet flights can fly 24/7, which helped many attending the funeral, who needed to make urgent travel plans late last night.
With many flying into Riyadh today, we have many empty leg flights available from Riyadh to various destinations within Europe. View our empty legs page for more information or for any bespoke private jet charter requests, contact us.
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