Many Nigerians aboard Arik Air and South Africa Airways flights have been refused entry to South Africa over invalid documents, a statement released by Nigeria- based Arik airline has said.The statement signed by Arik Air chairman Michael Arumemi- Ikhide and made available to Xinhua on Saturday, said 33 students on excursion and other passengers were denied entry by the South African Port Health authority and the immigration service on the ground that they had invalid yellow fever vaccination cards. It described the refusal by the South African authorities to allow Nigerians entry to the country as very embarrassing and dehumanizing.According to the statement, the Nigerian passengers had arrived in South Africa at about 5:30 a.m. local time on Friday and were still being kept at the airport by the immigration officer under the claim that their yellow fever cards were not recognized, as at the time of release.

"Some of the passengers were not first time travellers to South Africa and they had used the same yellow card before to enter the country,” the Arik Air chairman further claimed in the statement.

He said the airline would  not stand-by and watch its passengers reach their destination after overnight flight only to be met with a protocol and procedure that was  at best haphazard and at worst discriminatory to many passengers.