A Saudi prince brought some unique carry-on luggage on a flight.
It’s pretty normal for the very wealthy to spoil their friends with plane tickets.
What’s less normal is when those friends are of the feathered variety.
This royal family member booked out an entire plane just for his cast of falcons.
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A Saudi prince with a passion for falconry has made waves on Reddit.
He booked an entire plane to transport his impressive collection of falcons
The captain couldn’t resist snapping a photo of his unique passengers.
The floors of the plane were lined with plastic while the seats had perches and platforms on them.
Here, amongst the prince’s staff, a total of 80 falcons calmly perched for the duration of the flight.
While this might seem unusual to most, falconry is a beloved and popular sport in the Arab states.
As well as skyscraping, luxury real estate, Dubai is home to both a falcon museum and a high-end hospital, especially for these birds.
Falconer’s birds are treated with great respect and can cost from $40,000 to $500,000 each.
In fact, Qatar Airways even has a falcon allowance for its passengers: one per person.
It’s the national bird of the UAE, which is why so many airlines in this region will accommodate them without batting an eyelid.
Much like humans use an eye mask on long flights, falcons are fitted with hoods.
This prevents the birds of prey from getting frightened by anything unusual.
Like, say, looking out of the window and noticing that they’re 42,000 feet in the air.
Also like humans, falcons need a passport to permit them to travel.
Rather than a photo ID, the birds are fitted with a leg ring and an individual ID number.
It’s safe to assume these falcons were on their way to a hunting meet.
This is where falconers and their birds can meet and network, but it is unusual for one falconer to travel with so many birds.
Before boarding, the breeders will use defogger machines to sanitize the aircraft before the birds board.
The people pictured sharing armrests with the falcons are trained professionals, ready to tend to the needs of these expensive birds.
We just want to know what was served for the in-flight meal.
