A handful of school children?s dreams of going on board some of the worlds? most luxurious private jets ended badly yesterday when they were forced to leave the Airport because they posed a possible security threat.

Bermuda-based NetJets were hosting a day-long display and had invited the children to come out and see their planes but former US President George Bush, Sr. was scheduled to fly back to the US on board one of the private jets and the tightened security associated with his presence prevented access to the tarmac.

NetJets senior vice president, Dave Clery said it was ?unfortunate? especially since the company had extended the invitation to various schools.

Meanwhile some local businessmen and women ? who were lucky enough to be on ?the list? ? were granted access to both the tarmac and the luxurious aircraft, like Nancy Gosling who was given the grand tour by Mr. Clery.

Private jets on display at the Airport were the Citation Sovereign, a Dassault Falcon 2000 and a Gulfstream 550 ? the newest version of the long-range business jet.

In a brief interview yesterday pilot, Peter Schindel ? who flies the Falcon 2000 ? said the Hawker and Citation were the aircraft of choice for Bermuda.

?What makes the Gulfstream 550 so appealing to the Bermuda market, is its ability to fly more than quarter of the way around the globe without having to re-fuel,? he said.

He said the purpose of the ?air show? was to invite businessmen to use the service which can fly them direct ?anywhere in the world? without the hassle of long queues at airports, delays and the problem of not being able to fly somewhere for just one day.

The private jets are used regularly to make non-stop flights to the Caribbean and Bahamas and the Bermuda market has grown steadily over the last three years, Mr. Clery said.

NetJets fractional aircraft ownership allows individuals and companies to buy a piece of a private business jet at a fraction of the cost of whole aircraft ownership, and guarantees availability 365 days a year with just a few hours? notice.

Mr. Clery said share sizes vary with each type of aircraft from $300,000 a year up to $5-million a year.

Comparing the fractional aircraft ownership to ?time-shares?, he said, each share-holder would buy a certain amount of ?air time hours? which they could use in a year.