Rich Indians rent planes to escape Covid-19 'storm'

Last week, India became the new epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in the world. The skyrocketing number of cases pushed the national health system to the brink of collapse. Hospitals were overwhelmed, unable to accept more patients for treatment, and a shortage of medical oxygen caused many patients to die outside or on the way to the hospital.

Morgues and crematoriums are operating at full capacity, but still cannot meet demand as the pandemic sweeps across the country.

Worldometers statistics page, the number of new infections inIndiaThe number of new cases in the past 24 hours has reached 354,531, the fifth consecutive day setting a world record for the number of cases in a single day. The total number of deaths from the epidemic is now 195,116, an increase of 2,806 cases compared to the previous day. In the capital New Delhi alone, it is estimated that every 4 minutes, a person dies from the virus.

Several countries have announced that they will impose travel restrictions on visitors from India.

The negative developments have caused wealthy people in the world's second most populous country to rush to find ways to catch the last flights or charter private jets to leave the country before the "lockdown" orders take effect. According to Gulf News, one of their favorite destinations is the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is just a short distance from India and has hundreds of flights arriving and departing every day.

The UAE has announced a 10-day ban on visitors from India, starting April 25. Prices listed on websites show that one-way commercial flights from Mumbai to Dubai on April 23-24 cost about 80,000 rupees (over $1,000), 10 times the usual price. Tickets for the New Delhi-Dubai route cost more than 50,000 rupees (approximately $700), five times the price a week ago.

The Economic Times on April 23 quoted a spokesperson for the Indian Air Charter Company as saying that the demand for private jets has also "escalated tremendously." On April 24 alone, the company had 12 flights to Dubai and all of them were fully booked.

Another private jet operator, Enthral Aviation, said it has been overwhelmed by hundreds of bookings in recent days, forcing it to charter additional planes from overseas to meet demand.

The cost of chartering a 13-seater plane from Mumbai to Dubai is $38,000, and a six-seater for the same route is $31,000. To save money, some people group up to charter a plane together. Enthral Aviation has also received some requests to Thailand, but the most booked destination is still Dubai.

At least eight private jets from India arrived in Britain on April 24, before London imposed a travel ban on the South Asian country, according to the Sunday Times. A day earlier, one-way commercial flights from Mumbai or New Delhi to the British capital cost between 100,000 and 150,000 rupees ($1,337 and $2,007), double the usual price, but were also fully booked.

Seats on commercial flights from India to the US over the weekend were still available, but prices were generally double normal.