Birds cost nearly half a billion VND/bird, are given passports, and travel on extremely luxurious flights

The Middle East is famous as the “land of the rich” with luxury, splendor and many unique pleasures. Just by keeping pets, oil giants also make people “wide-eyed” because of their “heavenly under the sea” collections worth billions of dollars such as tigers, lions, antelopes,…

Especially in this land, the falcon is extremely popular, a symbol of authority and strength. These expensive falcons even have their own passports and are allowed to fly.

Tom Whitehill, a passenger, first had the opportunity to sit in the same cabin as falcons on a flight from Dubai to Doha in 2014. To him, the birds looked quite gentle because they were all blindfolded, until When the plane is about to land, they start flapping their wings.

“It’s quite strange, no one warned them that they would get on a plane. I’ve heard a lot of stories about falcons flying in the Gulf, but I’ve never seen one – it was a pleasant surprise,” Whitehill said.

Arab culture expert Nasif Kayed explains that owners must cover the birds’ eyes to keep them occupied, because “when they see something, they will immediately fly over and grab it.”

Some airlines already allow passengers to bring their pets in the same seat. Qatar Airways allows passengers to fly with a falcon if they buy an economy ticket, and up to 6 birds can sit throughout the cabin for a cost of 115 – 1,620 USD (more than 2.6 to 37.5 million VND). Etihad’s policy for flying with falcons is similar, but Emirates requires all animals on board to be in a cage.

Royal Jordanian Airlines loosens the rules a bit by allowing 2 falcons to sit in one seat at the same time, and a maximum of 10-15 falcons per cabin, depending on the type of plane. However, in this case passengers have to pay 3 times the baggage fee.

The VIP guest was a Saudi prince who spent a large amount of money to pay 80 plane tickets for 80 precious falcons.

In particular, public opinion was stirred by a photo of 80 falcons standing in the cabin of an airplane. On the Boeing 767 commercial flight, the airline in the photo was identified as Qatar Airways. Accordingly, the VIP guest was a Saudi prince who was willing to spend a large amount of money to pay for 80 plane tickets for 80 precious falcons in the first class cabin. The birds were tied to their seats to avoid causing chaos during the flight.

Although transporting falcons is no longer a rare thing, transporting a large number of up to 80 birds like the above is rare.

It is known that hunting with falcons existed thousands of years ago and has now become an important part of Middle Eastern culture. UNESCO has listed this tradition on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Traditionally, falcons were used to help their owners find food, but today they have become pets and exercise.

Cultural expert Kayed said that the falcons are worth about 2,000 – 70,000 dirhams (from 12.6 to more than 440 million VND). Price depends on the type of bird and how much money you have. It also depends on the breed of bird – some breeds are capable of fast flight, others are born for long-distance hunting.

It takes a minimum of 2,000 – 4,000 USD (49 – 98 million VND) to start raising falcons. The falcon cage alone costs about 1,500 USD (about 36 million VND). Some items to prepare are a glove (to keep the falcon from scratching the owner’s arm), a hood for the bird (to make it think it is night, thus making the bird calm and help it rest and sleep), a perch for the bird to rest while indoors, jjesses (thin leather ankle straps used to tether the bird and control it when it is wearing gloves or being trained) and creances (lacings).

To prevent illegal trade in rare wild animals, the Ministry of Environment and Water of Saudi Arabia must carry out procedures to issue passports for… falcons. With a fee of 130 USD, in just about two years 2012 – 2013, 28 thousand brave birds were granted proper passports, and were allowed to go through entry and exit procedures like humans.