Saudi Arabian authorities have cancelled the visas of 264 passengers airlifted by Air Peace.
The travellers discovered their fate on arrival in Jeddah from Kano; the authorities insisted the airline must return to Nigeria.
Only 87 of the 264 passengers were cleared after Nigerian embassy officials intervened.
The flight took off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos via the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Sunday night and arrived in Saudi Arabia’s major city on Monday without issues.
But on landing, Saudi authorities announced that all the visas were cancelled.
A source said the passengers and the airline personnel were shocked because they went through the Advanced Passengers Pre-screening System (APPS), which was also monitored by the Saudi Arabian authorities before departure.
The source wondered whether what happened was a strategy to discourage the airline from operating to the destination because since it started the operation, it has been recording high load factors.
The source said even the flight expected to leave on Tuesday to Jeddah was already fully booked.
When the Nigerian embassy waded in, Saudi authorities were said to have reduced the number of passengers that would be returned to 177 from 264.
Saudi Air has been operating directly from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia.
Since Air Peace started flight service to the Middle East nation at relatively lower fares, it has been receiving high patronage and as a Nigerian carrier, it helps to conserve foreign exchange for the country.
A source from the Nigerian embassy in Jeddah said even the Saudi immigration personnel did not know who cancelled the visas, which was done when the airline was already airborne to Jeddah.
The source said: “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”.
Those deported were 177 passengers and Air Peace has already left with them back to Nigeria. They are on their way to Nigeria”.
Industry observers attributed the development to aero-politics, noting that it is a way to force the Nigerian operator out of the route unless the government intervenes or adopts the principle of reciprocity.
Industry expert and the Chief Executive Officer of Centurion Aviation Security and Safety Consult, Nigeria, Group Captain John Ojikutu, urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene.
He said what happened showed why it was important for the Nigerian government to stand strongly with any Nigerian carrier on international routes.
Ojikutu said Nigeria should designate Nigerian airlines approved to operate out of the country as flag carriers, noting that the United States has no national carrier but all the airlines are supported by the government and are designated as flag carriers.
“The action of the Saudi authorities is shocking. There is aero-politics there and there is also diplomacy.
“There is the need for the Federal 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 Federal 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 said.
The Federal Government has promised to investigate the incident.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said the matter would be thoroughly investigated.
In a statement by his media aide, Alkasim Abdulkadir, the minister said the government would ensure that no Nigerian passenger is allowed to face such treatment again.
He said: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating the matter to see if any consular or aviation rules have been flouted.
“The ministry will ensure such actions that impact the welfare of Nigerian citizens are mitigated in the future.
“Nigeria has just participated in the Saudi-Africa Summit where bilateral discussions covering several sectors of the economy and mutually beneficial commitments were made”.
