Falcons on a Plane to Dubai – Watch the Video

Some of us love flying, others hate it. Those that love it, enjoy the new and unusual experiences that they may have on the journey as well as at the end of that flight. Some people were treated to a very unusual experience on their flight to Dubai recently.

The video shows that two men boarding a flight had some very uncommon cabin baggage: falcons! One of the men was seen with a falcon perched on this arm and the other with two falcons on this arm; all duly helmeted.

There are those who would have loved to be on the flight with the falcons.

People often travel with their Seeing Eye dogs or other emotional support animals. However this was probably not that at all. Falcons and other birds of prey are reared for their predatory instincts. This is not so much for emotional support as for sport; as a hobby among the wealthy in much of the Arab world.

This tweet expressed envy for the guys who owned those beautiful birds of prey and thought it would be a great deterrent in office!

One twitter user chimed in to say that travelling with falcons or similar birds of prey is not unusual in the Gulf region and asked the original poster to be more curious and aware.

Another commentator explained that pets find it very difficult and traumatic to be placed in the luggage hold of airplanes and that travelling with their owners would be a source of comfort for them.

Birds of prey on board a flight is an unusual sight and an expensive one. According to Qatar Airways, it could cost as much as $630 to carry a bird aboard a plane. This Twitter user offers some more useful information about travelling with birds and also says that in the UAE, birds are issued passports.

This is true! Passports are issued by the Ministry of Environment and Water for birds. This is done to combat the smuggling of the birds. In fact about 28,000 Falcon passports were issued from 2002 and 2013 in the UAE, where these magnificent creatures are symbols of national pride