JEDDAH, 13 February - Saudi authorities have deported a total of 81 Egyptians - 54 from Madinah and 27 from Jeddah - who attempted to enter the Kingdom with forged Haj visas, informed sources told Arab News yesterday.
Safwat Hejazi, manager of EgyptAir in Jeddah, confirmed that 27 pilgrims brought in by the Egyptian national carrier had been sent back. The 54 pilgrims turned back from Madinah airport were flown in by Saudi Arabian Airlines.
Immigration officials at King Abdul Aziz Airport became suspicious after discovering that a number of Egyptians were traveling on visas allegedly issued by the Saudi Embassy in Berlin, Germany. A closer examination of the passports revealed that the Egyptians had not entered Germany, raising questions as to how they had managed to obtain visas issued in Berlin from Cairo.
Immediately, officials in the Kingdom contacted their mission in Berlin, which was unable to verify that the Egyptians had actually been granted visas from the embassy there.
Saudi authorities were left with no choice but to deport the group with forged visas. They also fined Egypt's national carrier, EgyptAir, SR3,000 ($800) for every Egyptian that the carrier brought into the Kingdom on a forged visa.
EgyptAir officials in the Kingdom informed their office in Cairo about the incident, and advised officials there to investigate all would-be pilgrims carrying visas allegedly issued in Berlin.
"Some 66 people in this category were subsequently barred from boarding EgyptAir flights to Saudi Arabia," Hejazi said.
It appears that the majority of the forged visas originated from an establishment based in the Cairo district of Ain Shams, which sold the visas for up to 11,000 Egyptian pounds ($2,400) each. However, no arrests have yet been made.
Each year, Saudi authorities allocate Egypt a quota of 60,000 visas. This quota falls far short of the number of applicants, encouraging a black market in which tour companies sell visas for up to 30,000 Egyptian pounds each.
Asked about fines slapped on EgyptAir for bringing in the pilgrims with forged visas, Taha Awadallah, manager of the airline's office at Jeddah airport, said that in accordance with international aviation regulations air carriers are fined when they fly in passengers without valid visas.
