The aviation and diplomatic circles in Nigeria were ruffled yesterday, as the Saudi Arabian government cancelled the visa of all the 264 passengers airlifted by Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace, on arrival at the country from Kano, insisting that they be returned to Nigeria.
This is coming at a time President Bola Tinubu, is in Saudi Arabia attending the Arab-Africa summits.
Reacting last night, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement by the SA Media and Communications Strategy to the minister, Alkasim Abdulkadir, said it was investigating the matter to see if any consular or aviation rule had been violated.
The ministry said it would ensure actions that would impact the welfare of Nigerian citizens were mitigated in the future.
When contacted, the Presidency said it was aware of the situation but was yet to get the facts of the matter.
VOP News gathered 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, Jeddah, yesterday without issues.
However, on landing, the Saudi Arabia authorities announced that all the passengers’ visas were cancelled.
A source from the Nigerian embassy in Jeddah said even Saudi Immigrations personnel said they didn’t know who cancelled the visas but noted that they were cancelled when the airline was already airborne to Jeddah.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the sector have attributed the development to aeropolitics, describing the development as a way to force the Nigerian operator out of the route unless government intervened, adopting the principle of reciprocity.
