Reactions As Saudi Arabia Cancels Visa Of 264 Nigerian Passengers After Arriving In Jeddah

Saudi Arabian authorities have revoked the visas of 264 Nigerian passengers transported by Air Peace upon their arrival in Jeddah from Kano.

Despite the advanced passengers pre-screening system (APPS) being in place and monitored by Saudi authorities before departure, the unexpected visa cancellations shocked both passengers and airline personnel.

The incident has raised concerns about potential motives, with speculation that it might be an attempt to discourage Air Peace from continuing its operations on the route.

A source said that Air Peace has been experiencing high demand, offering relatively lower fares and contributing to the conservation of foreign exchange for Nigeria.

“Saudi Air has been operating directly from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia and since Air Peace started flight service to the Middle East nation at relatively lower fares, it has been receiving high patronage and as Nigerian carrier, it helps to conserve foreign exchange for the country,” the source said.

A source at the Nigerian embassy in Jeddah, said Saudi immigration personnel are unaware of who cancelled the visas, noting that the airline was already airborne to Jeddah when the passengers’ travel documents were voided.

“The airline was exonerated in all this as the APPS, which is live between both countries would have screened out any invalid visa and its passenger. The system accepted all affected passengers and passed them on,” the source said.

Following the visa cancellations, the Nigerian embassy intervened, prompting Saudi authorities to reduce the number of passengers to be returned from 264 to 177. The airline, Air Peace, is in the process of repatriating the affected 177 passengers back to Nigeria.

John Ojikutu, CEO of Centurion Aviation Security and Safety Consult, suggested that the Saudi authorities’ action is influenced by geopolitics.

He recommended that the Nigerian government designate domestic airlines with foreign operations as flag carriers, asserting the country’s support for its carriers in international matters.

Ojikutu said, “There is geopolitics there and there is also diplomacy. There is the need for the Nigerian government to stand firmly with Nigerian carriers and also designate them as flag carriers; so that other countries will know that they represent Nigeria.

“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.”

The development has triggered mixed reactions among Nigerians considering that it happened at a time when President Bola Tinubu visited Saudi Arabia for a summit before proceeding for lesser Hajj at the end of the summit.

See some reactions below:

https://twiiter.com/firstladyship/status/1724311291249213916?s=20

 

KanyiDaily recalls that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had also directed all foreign airlines not to bring Nigerians to Dubai due to the recent diplomatic row between each country’s flag carriers, Air Peace Airline, and Emirates Airline.