By SIMINA MISTREANU and STEFANIE DAZIO

Tens of thousands of airline passengers are stranded by the Iran war that has spread across the Gulf region, but some wealthy travelers are getting out — by paying large sums for luxury flights to Europe via airports that are safe from Iranian drone and missile attacks.

Demand for charter flights has skyrocketed, with some people paying up to $232,000 as major airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, Qatar, were closed after the start of the conflict last weekend.

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Travelers from Dubai, usually known as a safe and luxurious destination, are seeking to evacuate by traveling overland either to Muscat, Oman, about a four-hour drive, or to Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, more than 10 hours away. Then they board one of the few available commercial flights or take a charter flight, whose costs have soared since the start of the war.

“The demand is huge, and we can’t deliver enough aircraft to respond to the demand,” said Altay Kula, CEO of the France-based private jet broker JET-VIP.

Whereas normally a charter flight on a private jet that can accommodate up to 16 passengers from Riyadh to Porto in Portugal may cost around $115,800 these days, the cost has doubled, Kula said.

“This increase in cost reflects the aircraft’s scarcity, the repositioning costs as well, and the operator risk assessments. So this is not speculative pricing,” he added.

Prices can vary depending on the departure point, the type of aircraft and the route constraints, said Ameerh Naran, CEO of Vimana Private Jets. For flights from the Gulf region to Europe, prices are ranging from $173,800 to $232,000, he added.

In order to reach functional airports such as those in Riyadh and Muscat, some travelers hire private security companies that coordinate transportation in vehicles ranging from ordinary passenger cars to coach buses.

Light traffic moves along a main road in downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

Due to the heavy traffic, wait times at border points with Oman can be up to four hours, while costs range in the thousands of dollars, said Ian McCaul, operations and planning director with Alma Risk, a U.K.-based risk management and security firm.

Those seeking to leave are predominantly stranded travelers, as opposed to residents, McCaul added.

He estimates his company has made transfer arrangements for more than 200 people and advised several others in recent days.

Vimana’s clients include business executives, families and entrepreneurs, as well as remote workers who had been based in the region, Naran said.

A few people walk in a public plaza in downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

Elie Hanna, CEO for the Middle East headquarters of Air Charter Service, based in Dubai, said most of the flights out of the region are leaving from Oman. The prices are so high, he said, because few charter planes are available since most of them are stuck at airports that are now closed.

The clients he is seeing range from people who regularly charter private, as well as people who generally fly commercial but are trying to pool resources with other travelers or families to share the expense.

“Everyone is stressed,” Hanna said. “To be honest, everyone is trying to accommodate as much as they can. Muscat Airport is overloaded with flights and everybody is stressed.”

Experts from the International SOS security and health services company expect the fighting to continue to affect transportation and energy infrastructure for weeks.

In downtown St. Paul, a major remodel of Grand Casino Arena, Roy Wilkins Auditorium and the adjoining RiverCentre convention center would cost $600 million, with funding potentially split between a $200 million request from the state Legislature and $162.5 million each from the city and the Minnesota Wild.

The remaining $75 million — for the Roy Wilkins Auditorium — would come from an as-yet-undetermined source.

The team, in turn, would agree to a lease extension, cementing its presence in downtown St. Paul past the expiration of the Wild’s current lease in 2035.

Mayor Kaohly Her and the Wild’s leadership were expected to announce those and other details Tuesday morning during a news conference downtown.

‘One of the largest city-owned assets’

Difficult discussions with lawmakers are yet to come.

The new framework agreement to fund renovations at the city’s 25-year-old sports, concert and convention venue relies heavily on state support, at a time when the state enjoys a budget surplus that could easily disappear in light of federal funding cuts and other uncertainty in the economy.

“Grand Casino Arena is one of the largest city-owned assets, and we are responsible for making sure it continues to anchor our downtown and economy,” said Her, in a written statement. “Now we will take this proposal to the Legislature and ask for their support. I look forward to that conversation.”

The mayor’s office noted the plan does not require raising city property taxes.

Instead, the city would draw its $162.5 million for the project from an extension of St. Paul’s existing half-cent sales tax, which already supports the arena, and the Wild would be responsible for any cost overruns on the overall project.

The framework agreement leaves $75 million as yet unaccounted for to fund the modernization of the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in a second phase of construction, though the city has indicated it would work with the Wild to figure out how to cover that remaining sum.

The split

Negotiations with the team began within weeks of Her winning an upset election last November, according to the mayor’s office, which released a statement indicating “both parties worked in good faith to craft a solution that balances the arena’s operational needs, maximizes efficient use of taxpayer dollars, avoids raising property taxes, and preserves and reinvests in one of the city’s largest publicly owned assets that generates millions in direct tax revenues and produces millions more in economic impact from users across the state and country.”

Here’s how the numbers break down:

The arena complex renovation and improvement project would cost a total of $600 million. That includes $450 million for Grand Casino Arena and a combined $150 million for the RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

The agreement includes a $200 million request to state lawmakers, spanning $125 million for Grand Casino Arena and $75 million in total for the RiverCentre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

The city will finance $162.5 million for Grand Casino Arena using an extension of its longstanding half-cent sales tax, of which up to 40% can be dedicated to capital improvements at the arena complex.

The team would privately finance $162.5 million for Grand Casino Arena.

The city will work with the Wild as a preferred partner to fund the remaining $75 million for the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, the primary target of the renovation’s second phase.

The Wild will continue to be responsible for the ongoing management of the arena, and they’d agree to a lease extension. The team will pay ongoing rent and payment-in-lie-of-taxes payments for the use of the public facility.

“Both the city and the team are committing to significant ongoing asset preservation investments over the term of the lease,” reads the announcement from the mayor’s office.

Wild owner: Arena booked 150 nights a year

In a statement, Wild owner Craig Leipold noted the arena has been the Wild’s home since 2000, and is booked for events 150 nights per year, more than any other major venue in the state.

“Like any 25-year-old building, it’s ready for an update and we’re ready to invest – in the fan and visitor experience, in the event space, in safety and accessibility,” he said. “We are thrilled that Mayor Her shares our vision for creating an improved entertainment district in downtown St. Paul and is moving this project forward.”

Members of both political parties have cooled on the prospect of public funding for sports stadiums in light of other competing priorities, but the mayor’s office has emphasized that Grand Casino Arena hosts much more than professional sports.

The combined complex doubles as the city’s convention center, concert venue and a gathering place for state high school tournaments and cultural events such as Hmong New Year’s celebration.

Efforts for funding failed in 2025

Efforts to convince state lawmakers for major remodeling dollars for Grand Casino Arena were met with a cool audience a year ago when Leipold and then-Mayor Melvin Carter presented plans for a $769 million renovation, which would rely on nearly $400 million from state appropriations bonds.

With those discussions going nowhere, the city and team dropped the project to a $488 million upgrade, freezing planned improvements to the RiverCentre and the Roy Wilkins Auditorium, and lowered their ask to the state to $50 million. The smaller bonding request still did not move the needle.

The city’s attempt to secure $2 million in planning and pre-design funds from state lawmakers was unsuccessful in 2024.

On Friday, state economists forecast a $3.7 billion budget surplus for the 2026-2027 two-year budget cycle, though those numbers could change dramatically in light of federal funding cuts and other factors, such as the state of the overall economy. Gov. Tim Walz said Friday he expected to release a supplemental budget request and state bonding proposal within weeks.

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By JAMES ELLINGWORTH, AP Sports Writer

As a long jumper, Stef Reid never thought she’d need to learn how to land on ice. Now she’s part of a movement hoping to get figure skating into the Paralympics.

Skating sports are a big gap on the program when the Winter Paralympics start on Friday. Figure skaters with disabilities challenge the norm in a sport with often-fixed ideas about how a skater should look.

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Reid’s path to figure skating is unique. An amputee athlete who won three Paralympic medals in track and field, she was a familiar face on British TV. Being invited to appear on the 2022 series of a celebrity skating show, “Dancing On Ice,” still came as a shock.

“It had just never crossed my mind because it is probably one of the last sports you think about for somebody with a physical disability,” Reid tells the AP.

“Even if you are quote-unquote ‘able bodied,’ it’s still dangerous, and so it just never really occurred to me. But when they asked, I was like, ‘This is amazing.’”

R&D on the ice

Learning to skate meant Reid, who uses a prosthetic right leg after a boating accident at 15, had to find ways to train her hip muscles to do the jobs other skaters’ knees and ankles do. Her prosthetist developed a leg that would let her glide across the ice.

“Every day, every week it would be a new prototype which meant all the pressure points were different, and I basically was having to start over again,” she says.

“There was a very large period where we just thought, ‘Maybe this just isn’t going to work. Maybe this is a bit of a step too far,’ and then this amazing thing happened. After 10 weeks of being really bad, my brain just kind of kicked into gear.”

Reid built momentum and reached the quarterfinals of “Dancing On Ice” after weeks of live competition for a national audience.

Stef Reid, a former Paralympic athlete who now does figure skating, wears a specialized, custom-engineered prosthetic blade after competing in the British Adult Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Skating and diversity

Since then, she’s become a leading competitor in Inclusive Skating, the main body trying to get figure skating Paralympic recognition, and competes at the British adult nationals alongside skaters who don’t have disabilities.

Olympic figure skating has gone through years of difficult conversations about diversity on the ice, or the lack of it, but Reid says she’s always felt welcome.

“No coach has ever been like, ‘No, I don’t want to coach somebody with a disability.’ It’s more like, ‘Oh gosh, I don’t know if I have the skillset,’” Reid says.

“As (coaches are) getting their confidence in terms of how to adapt and adjust, then it doesn’t matter what your disability is, they can teach anybody.”

Stef Reid, a former Paralympic athlete who now does figure skating, warms up before competing in the British Adult Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Discrimination against skaters

Would-be skaters haven’t always been accepted, though.

“There’s been quite a lot of discrimination against skaters, both directly to me and also reported to the skaters,” says Margarita Sweeney-Baird, founder of Inclusive Skating.

“For example, ‘Skating is beautiful,’ therefore disability skating is not to be allowed because it’s not beautiful in this person’s eyes,” Sweeney-Baird recalls, along with simply: “’We don’t think that you should be on the ice with us.’”

A former champion skater and coach, Sweeney-Baird funded a trust to promote skating for people with disabilities in the 1990s. She was frustrated at the lack of progress and in the early 2010s decided to set up her own competitions. Among those who’ve benefited is Sweeney-Baird’s daughter Juliana, a keen skater who is visually impaired.

Stef Reid, a former Paralympic athlete who now does figure skating, competes in the British Adult Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

A new way to compete

The Paralympics doesn’t yet have any “performance sports” based around artistry. Sweeney-Baird created her own judging system to reward skaters for what they can do, not deduct points for what they can’t.

Programs are shorter with limits on the number of jumps, because repeated landing on a prosthetic can be painful. Other events without jumps suit skaters with spinal conditions. Most skaters are women, and Inclusive Skating allows same-gender pairs to offer more chances to compete.

A collaboration with the Special Olympics offers skating events for athletes with intellectual disabilities, who haven’t always been accepted at the Paralympics.

Stef Reid, a former Paralympic athlete who now does figure skating, competes in the British Adult Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Why the Paralympics matter

Getting onto the Paralympic program would mean funding and recognition for skaters, Sweeney-Baird says.

New sports must show there’s a deep enough field of athletes from around the world. Sweeney-Baird says skating meets those targets.

Inclusive Skating is a relatively new organization but the Paralympics tend to expand gradually. The last time a new winter sport joined was snowboarding in 2014.

Figure skating would need the International Paralympic Committee to approve a range of conditions affecting how the sport is run, venues, costs and how to classify athletes’ disabilities.

“The IPC is always looking at ways for a diverse group of athletes to achieve excellence at the Paralympic Games, and our current strategic plan outlines an objective to explore ways to develop the Paralympic Winter Games,” the IPC told the AP in an emailed statement.

For now, the main way for skaters to spread the word is on social media.

Reid shares videos of her skating journey to more than 46,000 Instagram followers, and Inclusive Skating swaps coaching tips and competition dates. Innovations spread, too.

When she spoke to the AP in January, Reid was excited about a video she’d seen of an amputee skater who seemed to have controlled ankle movement in her prosthetic leg, opening up exciting new possibilities on the ice.

“I was like, ‘Whoa,’” Reed says. “I need to call her up and be like, ‘How did you guys achieve this?’”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Midway neighborhood advocates who have longed for the demolition of the derelict CVS Pharmacy building at Snelling and University avenues will finally get to see the structure fall before the proverbial wrecking ball next Monday morning.

St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her plans to host a demolition watch party from the Spruce Tree Centre office building across the street, where she’ll be joined by representatives from the Midway Chamber of Commerce and others who have called for the CVS building to be taken down.

CVS closed at the location in 2020, after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis triggered widespread riots, and then reopened briefly before permanently shuttering in April 2022. The site attracted vandals and groups of as many as 40 loiterers at a time before its parking lot was fenced off.

It’s since been pointed to as a symbol of neglect and poor oversight, even entering as a topic of debate in last November’s mayor’s race, which saw Her unseat two-term incumbent Melvin Carter.

The seven-member city council ordered the demolition of the building on Nov. 5, the day after the election.

The demolition is scheduled to take place between 10 a.m. and noon.

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