24th March, 2023
Emirates Airline has a “substantial” amount of ticket sale revenue trapped in Nigeria and has made only slow progress in repatriating blocked funds out of Africa’s largest economy.
The airline stated this on Friday while reviewing its financial situation.
Although Emirates declined to say how much was trapped in Nigeria, a spokesperson said roughly half of the amount in its backlog was overdue for repatriation and that the process “remains plagued by constant delays.”
Earlier on Thursday, Nigeria’s aviation minister, Hadi Sirika, noted that the Dubai-based carrier had received the majority of its funds outside of Nigeria and still needed about $35 million.
According to the global airline industry association IATA, Nigeria is withholding $743 million in revenue earned by international carriers operating in the country, the highest amount owed by any country.
Sirika added that the country hoped to release money from foreign airlines’ ticket sales, which had been stalled due to dollar shortages in the country, but gave no timetable.
Nigeria is experiencing severe dollar shortages, forcing many citizens and businesses to seek foreign exchange on the black market, where the naira currency has gradually weakened.
President Muhammadu Buhari directed the central bank in February to increase the amount of foreign currency allocated to Emirates after the airline suspended flights to and from Nigeria due to the inability to repatriate funds.
The Emirates spokesperson said the carrier had made many concerted efforts to restart flights in Nigeria since halting them five months ago, but a solution continued to be stalled.
Reuters