The 177 Air Peace passengers denied entry into Saudi Arabia on Monday were carrying inappropriate visas and travel documents, according to Abdulaziz Sabitu, MD of hajj services company Arafat Air Service Nigeria Ltd.
Sabitu stated that the affected passengers did not have the right visas and supporting papers required to enter Saudi Arabia, leading to their repatriation back to Nigeria.
The Air Peace flight from Kano had arrived in Jeddah on Monday with 264 passengers. But Saudi authorities cancelled the visas of 177 passengers on arrival, allowing only 87 to enter.
According to Sabitu, an experienced hajj operator, the issue arose because different types of visas are required for travel to Saudi Arabia. For instance, Umrah visas need return tickets while business visas also require the same.
But he revealed that information showed only 87 of the passengers had return tickets. The remaining 177 had one-way tickets, likely causing fears they didn’t plan to leave Saudi Arabia.
Sabitu added that Air Peace’s management being quite new to operating the Lagos-Kano-Jeddah route since October 31, 2022 lacked sufficient familiarity with Saudi Arabia’s stringent travel regulations.
He advised better coordination to avoid a recurrence as the incident occurred just after President Bola Tinubu visited Saudi Arabia for an Investment Summit aimed at boosting business ties with Africa.
Meanwhile, Air Peace sources suggested the mass visa cancellation may have been a strategy by Saudi authorities to discourage the airline which in recent weeks has been transporting high passenger volumes to Jeddah.
Despite all passengers clearing Advanced Passenger Prescreening formalities monitored by Saudi officials before departing Nigeria, they were still denied entry on arrival.
The post Jeddah Visa Row: Affected Air Peace Passengers Had Wrong Travel Documents — Hajj Operator appeared first on Barristers.NG.
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