Saudi Arabian authorities have revoked the visas of all 264 passengers transported by Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace, upon their arrival in the country from Kano.
The authorities insisted on the airline repatriating the passengers back to Nigeria, the Vanguard reports.
The flight, originating from Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, via Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, proceeded without issues on Sunday night and landed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, today.
Upon landing, the Saudi authorities abruptly cancelled all passengers’ visas, leaving both passengers and airline personnel shocked.
A confidential source revealed that the cancellation occurred despite the passengers passing through the Advanced Passengers Prescreening System (APPS), which was monitored by Saudi authorities before the flight’s departure from Nigeria.
Speculation arises as to whether this incident is a strategy to discourage the airline’s operations to Saudi Arabia, given its consistently high load factor since commencing operations.
The upcoming Tuesday flight to Jeddah is reportedly fully booked.
The Nigerian embassy intervened, resulting in Saudi authorities reducing the number of passengers to be returned from 264 to 170.
Saudi Air, which operates directly from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia, faces competition from Air Peace, which offers relatively lower fares, contributing significantly to the country’s foreign exchange conservation.
An embassy source in Jeddah reported that even Saudi immigration personnel were unaware of who initiated the visa cancellations, revealing that it occurred while the airline was en route to Jeddah.
“The airline was exonerated in all this,” the source stated, emphasizing that the APPS system had screened out any invalid visas during the check, accepting all affected passengers.
Air Peace promptly repatriated 177 passengers back to Nigeria, emphasizing the need for government intervention. Industry stakeholders attribute the incident to aeropolitics, viewing it as an attempt to force the Nigerian carrier out of the route.
