…As Ojikutu Calls On FG To Intervene Immediately
Saudi Arabia has cancelled the visa of all the 264 passengers airlifted by Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace on arrival in Jeddah from Kano, ordering the airline to return them back to Nigeria.
Ontimenews learnt that the flight took off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos via the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Sunday night and arrived Saudi Arabia’s major city today without issues but on landing, the Saudi Arabia authorities announced that the visa of all the passengers have been cancelled.
A source told Ontimenews that all the passengers and the airline personnel were shocked at the cancellation of the visas because during check-in of the passengers they went through Advanced Passengers Pre-screening System (APPS), which were also monitored by the Saudi Arabia authorities before the flight left Nigeria.
The source wondered whether what happened was a deliberate strategy to discourage the airline from operating to the destination because since it started the operation it has been recording high load factors and even the flight expected to leave on Tuesday to Jeddah was already fully booked.
The source hinted that when the Nigerian embassy intervened in the matter, Saudi authorities were said to have reduced the number of passengers that would be returned to 170 from 264.
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 experiencing high patronage.
The operation of the route as a Nigerian carrier has helped to conserve foreign exchange for the country.
A source from the Nigerian embassy in Jeddah, said that even the Saudi Immigrations personnel said that they didn’t know who cancelled the visas but that they were cancelled when the airline was already airborne to Jeddah.
“The airline was exonerated in all this as the Advanced Passenger Prescreening System(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.
Those deported were 177 passengers and Air Peace has already left with them back to Nigeria.
“They are on their way to Nigeria now,” the source added.
Keen watchers of the aviation sector said that it is part of aero-politics, adding that it is part of a strategy to force the Nigerian operator out of the route; unless the government intervenes, calling on the Federal Government to adopt the principle of reciprocity.
Reacting, the CEO of Centurion Aviation Security and Safety Consult, Nigeria, Group Captain John Ojikutu attributed the action of the Saudis to aero-politics and diplomacy, calling on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to wade in immediately.
He said that what happened showed why it is important for the Nigerian government to stand strongly with any Nigerian carrier designated to operate international destinations.
Ojikutu said that 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 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. 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.
Recall that the West and Central Africa’s largest airline, Air Peace, expanded its Asian footprints with the commencement of direct scheduled commercial flights into Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on October 31, 2023
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