The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia authorities have cancelled the visas of 177 passengers airlifted by Air Peace.
The travellers discovered their fate on arrival in Jeddah from Kano when 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.
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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 passengers.
“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.
