A large plane owned by the UAE’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, surprised residents on the Spanish island of Majorca this week when it landed its airport. The Boeing 747-400F, acquired in 2010 and carrying no visible markings, landed at Palma Airport on Thursday (March 12), where it remained on the tarmac for about three hours.
It is believed that the aircraft had stopped to take on fuel, before heading on to Miami, Florida. However, it remains largely a mystery why the flight is being made. While no official explanation has been given, the jumbo jet is often used to transport Sheikh Mohammed’s racehorses. It is possible, therefore, that horses were being moved because of concerns about their safety as the UAE city continues to face Iranian missiles and drones amid heightened Middle Eastern tensions.
The horse racing interests of Sheikh Mohammed, who has been the UAE’s prime minister and vice-president since 2006 and also serves as the Emir (ruler) of Dubai, are well known. He is a titan of global horseracing, known as the founder of the Godolphin racing stable and Darley stallion operation.
Beyond horses, earlier this year, Dubai Holding Group, controlled by Sheikh Mohammed, acquired the luxury Jumeirah Port Sóller Hotel & Spa in Mallorca, reinforcing his European investments.
Sheikh Mohammed’s fleet of Boeing 747-400 freighters is operated primarily under the Dubai Royal Air Wing, the specialised aviation unit dedicated to the UAE’s leadership and government missions.
Featuring the iconic nose-loading door and a massive side cargo door, the 747-400F can swallow up to 124 tons of cargo, including oversized items like high-end vehicles, helicopters or industrial equipment. This massive payload capacity is paired with an intercontinental range of over 4,411 miles (7,100km), allowing the ruler of Dubai to travel across the globe in a single flight.
The fleet also serves a profound philanthropic role through the International Humanitarian City (IHC). Sheikh Mohammed has famously ordered these aircraft into service for emergency airlifts, such as the 2014 and 2024 humanitarian corridors, to deliver aid to disaster zones and conflict regions. During the 2023 earthquake in Turkey and Syria, he deployed his freighters to fly in hundreds of tons of shelter kits and medical supplies.
At 24, Sheikh Mohammed led an 80-hour standoff to save 140 lives during the 1973 hijacking of a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 in Dubai. As Minister of Defence, he used a mix of calm diplomacy and psychological pressure to keep the hijackers at bay while ensuring passengers received food and air conditioning. Every hostage was eventually released safely.
