In an age of austerity, Saudi prince buys airplane seats to transport 80 falcons

Pic/Video Courtesy: Twitter

Dubai: The members of the Saudi Arabian Royal family are known for their fabulous wealth and their keenness to flaunt it whenever an opportunity comes. One such incident has come to fore now, which claims that a Saudi prince recently bought tickets of a passenger jet for transporting his 80 falcons.

A picture posted on Twitter went viral after it was re-tweeted by several users on the micro-blogging website and showed a flock of blindfolded falcons seated on a plane around the cabin among passengers.

Each bird was seemingly tied securely down to the seats.

Saudi Prince buys airfare for 80 of his falcons, reminds us we’ll never be rich https://t.co/Z9WGlXlncU pic.twitter.com/NfB8xw8MmP — AJC (@ajc) January 31, 2017

Transportation of falcons, the national bird of the UAE, is not a rare practice in the Middle East.

Falcons can get their own forest green passports to fly in the UAE. That passport allows them to travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Morocco, and Syria.

Qatar Airways' website also states that a maximum of six falcons can be brought in economy class.

A Flydubai spokesman said falcons must have their own seat, with a cloth placed underneath them to prevent accidents. Etihad Airways also allows falcons on board.

A video of nearly 80 falcons literally taking the flight was also posted by In The Now.  

This Saudi prince bought plane seats for each and every one of his 80 falcons pic.twitter.com/kMlB5aavfi — IN THE NOW (@IntheNow_tweet) January 31, 2017

With PTI inputs