SAUDI Arabia abruptly revoked the visas of all 264 passengers who arrived in Jeddah on Monday aboard Air Peace, Nigeria’s prominent airline.
On Sunday night, the flight took off from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos via Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano and arrived in Saudi Arabia’s main city without issue on Monday.
Even with the Advanced Passenger Prescreening System clearance during check-in, Saudi authorities insisted on the immediate return of the passengers to Nigeria.
This move has raised speculation about potential aero-political motives, with industry observers questioning whether it aims to disrupt Air Peace’s operations to the destination, given the airline’s consistent high load factor and full bookings for upcoming flights.
Following intervention by the Nigerian embassy, Saudi officials reduced the number of passengers to be returned to 177, prompting Air Peace to return the affected individuals to Nigeria as soon as possible.
According to a source, passengers from the MMIA and Kano Airport were thoroughly screened, and there were no visa issues. The passengers were officially issued visas and processed through the advanced passenger information system, which was accessible to both Lagos and Jeddah authorities.
The unexpected cancellation was reported upon landing, raising suspicions of a plot to frustrate the Nigerian carrier off the route.
“We suspect this is a strategy to frustrate the Nigerian carrier out of the route; some people are not happy with the option Air Peace is providing, the direct flight to Jeddah as against using another foreign airline which attracts higher fares,” the source stated.
A source said, “The screening of passengers from the MMIA and Kano Airport was thorough and there was no issue with the visas.
“These were people who were duly issued the visa and they passed through the advanced passenger information system which is accessible to both authorities in Lagos and Jeddah.
“We are surprised because this cancellation was announced when the flight already landed.
“We suspect this is a strategy to frustrate the Nigerian carrier out of the route, some people are not happy with the option Air Peace is providing, the direct flight to Jeddah as against using another foreign airline which attracts higher fares.”
This incident comes on the heels of Air Peace’s recent announcement that direct flights from Lagos and Kano to Jeddah would begin in September, with flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with return flights on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, using a Boeing 777.
When contacted, Air Peace spokesperson Stanley Olisa confirmed that the visas of 177 people airlifted by the aircraft to Saudi Arabia had been cancelled by the foreign authorities.
He stated that the development surprised the Nigerian carrier, emphasizing that despite the intervention of the Nigerian embassy in Saudi Arabia, the passengers were still forced to return to Nigeria.
“It is shocking. 264 passengers were flown and everything was fine from here (Nigeria), the system checked them and everything was approved. But upon arrival in Saudi, their (passengers’) visas were canceled.
“Despite the intervention of the Nigerian embassy overthere, the visas of 177 Nigerians were canceled. So out of the 264 passengers, the visas of 177 people were canceled. So if you do the math, you will know the number of those who were allowed entry,” Olisa stated.
On whether there was an explanation for this, he replied, “It was shocking and there was nothing in the form of explanation for that action. So we cannot say the actual reason for that decision.”
