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Why Saudi Arabia Cancelled Visa of 177 Nigerian Air Peace Passengers

On arrival in Jeddah from Kano, Saudi Arabia invalidated the visas of all 264 passengers evacuated by Nigeria’s largest carrier, Air Peace, and demanded that the airline return them to Nigeria.

The flight took off from Lagos’ Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Sunday night, via Kano’s Aminu Kano International Airport, and arrived in Saudi Arabia’s biggest city today without incident. Nonetheless, upon arrival, Saudi authorities declared that all of the passengers’ visas had been cancelled.

According to the source, the cancellation of the visas shocked all of the passengers and airline personnel because, during check-in, the passengers went through the Advanced Passengers Prescreening System (APPS), which was also monitored by Saudi Arabian authorities before the flight left Nigeria.

The source wondered if what happened was a plot to discourage the airline from running to the location because it has been recording a high load factor since it began operations, and even the flight scheduled to depart on Tuesday for Jeddah was already fully booked.

When the Nigerian embassy intervened, the Saudi authorities reportedly lowered the number of travelers who would be repatriated from 264 to 177.

Saudi Air has been flying directly from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia, and since Air Peace began flying to the Middle Eastern country at lower costs, it has received a lot of business. As a Nigerian carrier, it contributes to the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

According to a source at the Nigerian embassy in Jeddah, even Saudi immigration staff indicated they didn’t know who cancelled the visas, which were cancelled after the plane had already taken off for Jeddah.

“The airline was exonerated in all of this because the Advanced Passenger Prescreening System (APPS), which is live between countries, would have screened out any invalid visa and its passenger,” according to the source. “The system accepted and routed all affected passengers.”

There were 177 people deported, and Air Peace has already returned them to Nigeria.

“They are on their way to Nigeria now,” the source said.

Aeropolitics, according to industry observers, is to push the Nigerian operator out of the route unless the government intervenes, using the principle of reciprocity.

Reacting to the news, retired CEO of Centurion Aviation Security and Safety Consult, Group Captain John Ojikutu, attributed the Saudis’ actions to aeropolitics and diplomacy and urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intercede promptly.

He stated that what occurred demonstrated the need of the Nigerian government actively supporting any Nigerian carrier approved to run foreign routes.

Ojikutu suggested that Nigeria identify Nigerian airlines permitted to fly outside the country as flag carriers, pointing out that the United States does not have a national carrier, but all airlines are backed by the government and labeled as flag carriers.

“The Saudi rulers’ actions are disturbing. There is aeropolitics there, as well as diplomacy. The Nigerian government must support Nigerian carriers and designate them as flag carriers so that other countries understand that they represent Nigeria.

“The government must come out and intervene. The government must be behind Air Peace now to ensure that it is not denied its rights as contained in the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between the two countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must not keep quiet. Nigeria must not keep quiet. Ideally, the government is expected to stand behind any of the country’s airlines that it designates to fly overseas,” Ojikutu declared.

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