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Have you
ever boarded a flight dreading who might be your neighbor for the next
few hours?
Maybe they'll snore, or encroach on your personal space, or perhaps
it'll be a screaming baby.
Passengers flying on Qatar, Emirates, Etihad or Royal Jordanian
Airlines, however, have a unique type of neighbor to worry about -- the
pet falcon.
On these Middle Eastern airlines, the birds -- which have their own
passports -- are permitted to fly, most often perching on their owners'
arms.
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Status symbol
In the Middle East, falcons are the ultimate status symbol.
And it's become routine for some falcon owners to have their birds join
them, un-caged, aboard flights -- no matter if they're traveling in
first class or economy.
This week, a photograph of a cabin full of the treasured birds went
viral on social media.
Ahmet Yasar, who posted the image on Reddit, told CNN that the falcons
were traveling to Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, and that the photograph was
taken by a friend who works as a pilot.
While flying with falcons in the cabin area is not unusual, to have this
many on board at the same time is extremely rare -- with commercial
airlines usually restricting flights to a maximum of six falcons at one
time.
A symbol of courage, determination and freedom
Falconry, the sport of hunting with falcons, dates back hundreds of
centuries and has become such a significant part of the Middle East's
culture that UNESCO has added it to its Intangible Cultural Heritage of
Humanity list.
Traditionally, the birds were used as a way of obtaining food but
nowadays they're kept as pets and used for sport.
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Cultural expert Nasif Kayed, from The Arab Culturalist, told CNN falcons
can cost anywhere between 2,000 dirhams ($544) and 70,000 dirhams
($19,058).
"It depends on what you're looking for and how much money you have, of
course," he said. "It depends on the breed -- some are (bred) for speed,
others are for long distance hunting."
In the United Arab Emirates, the birds are required to have their own
passports, issued by the Ministry of Environment and Water, to combat
smuggling of the birds. The document is valid for three years and costs
about $130.
Between 2002 and 2013, the government issued more than 28,000 falcon
passports.
Kayed says the birds can be trained within a matter of six weeks and
Emirati men develop a strong relationship with the animals.
"For us, they represent courage, perseverance, determination and
freedom."
Qatar, Etihad, Emirates and Royal Jordanian Airlines allow falcons in
their cabin area.
In 2014, Tom Whitehill took a Qatar Airways flight from Dubai to Doha
and experienced traveling with the falcons first-hand.
"It was quite strange, there was no warning that they were going to be
on the flight," he told CNN.
"I had heard plenty of stories of falcons flying throughout the Gulf in
the cabin of the aircraft, but had not seen it before -- it was a nice
surprise, but definitely a bit surreal."
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Whitehill said the birds weren't noisy, and barely caused a fuss --
except for when the plane came into landing.
"They had hoods on, so they were quite calm and relaxed until we started
to land and they started to flap their wings," he said.
Cultural expert, Kayed, said owners usually covered the birds' eyes to
keep them "at peace" -- "because when they see (something) they have to
go and get it."
So, which airline can you take your falcon on?
Falcons even get their own passports to travel on board flights in the
UAE.
While the owner of the falcons in the picture that went viral this week
appears to have bought a ticket for each bird, some airlines permit
passengers to fly with their bird in their seat.
According to its website, Qatar Airways will allow a passenger to travel
with one falcon as an economy class passenger and a maximum of six
falcons are permitted within the entire cabin -- but you'll have to pay
for it, with rates ranging from $115 to $1,620 per bird.
Etihad has similar regulations for flying with falcons, but Emirates
requires all animals traveling in the cabin to be caged.
Royal Jordanian Airlines is slightly more accommodating, and allows two
falcons per seat and a maximum of 10-15 falcons in the cabin at one
time, depending on the aircraft. But such passengers will also be
charged three times the normal excess baggage rate.
German airline Lufthansa has hinted that it might allow passengers to
carry their falcons on board in the future -- it developed a prototype
bird stand in 2014, called the "Falcon Master", for VIP customers.
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While it still hasn't been installed, a spokesman for the airline told
CNN they were in talks with several potential customers.
"Our intention was and still is to offer this very special product to a
small group of private and VIP customers who (are) traveling in a
private jet with birds like falcons."
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