The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has expressed concern about the inability of foreign airlines operating in Nigeria to repatriate their $464 million blocked revenue from Nigeria.
IATA’s regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Alawadhi, said in a statement that Nigeria’s poor handling of the matter had begun to have a telling connectivity effect on the country as Emirates had signified to withdraw its operations into the country.
He said airlines cannot be expected to fly as long as they cannot get their money realised from ticket sales.
“IATA is disappointed that the amount of airline money blocked from repatriation by the Nigerian government grew to $464 million in July. This is airline money and its repatriation is protected by international agreements in which Nigeria participates.
“IATA’s many warnings that failure to restore timely repatriation will hurt Nigeria with reduced air connectivity are proving true with the withdrawal of Emirates from the market. Airlines cannot be expected to fly if they cannot realise the revenue from ticket sales.
“Loss of air connectivity harms the local economy, hurts investor confidence, impacts jobs and peoples livelihoods. It’s time for the government of Nigeria to prioritize the release of airline funds before more damage is done,” Alawadhi said.
Recall that Emirates had announced the suspension of its flights to Nigeria as from September 1, 2022.
In July, the airline had, in a letter to the minister of aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika, requested his support to access its $85 million trapped in Nigeria.
The carrier stated that non-accessibility to its revenue was the reason it reduced its services to Nigeria from 11 weekly flights to seven.
