The national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, Emirates Airlines, has withdrawn passenger flight services on Nigerian routes over foreign airlines’ trapped funds, estimated to have reached over $500 million.
This is coming as more foreign airlines have also hinted at reviewing their future operations in the country, based on the final outcome of the recent intervention by the House of Representatives.
Emirates, in an official memo to the Ministry of Aviation in early October, had notified that barring repatriation of about 80 per cent of its accumulated funds in Nigeria by month-end, it would suspend operations by October 29.
The Guardian learnt that the ‘commercial decision’ to stop Lagos and Abuja operations was hastened by the recent visa ban on Nigerians travelling to Dubai, coupled with the alleged nonchalance of the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) to defray trapped funds.
Travel agencies yesterday regretted the “avoidable development”, saying Nigerian travellers would have more difficulties reaching other parts of the world without Emirates.
About two months after CBN intervened in the trapped fund’s crisis, with the release of $264 million out of $465 million, there has been no reprieve as the foreign airlines’ monies in Nigeria continue to accumulate and are now in excess of $500 million.
The funds are proceeds of international flight tickets that had been sold in naira but starved of foreign exchange (dollars) equivalent to repatriation to the airlines’ home countries.
Following the protest by travel agencies, the House of Representatives, a fortnight ago, summoned the Ministry of Aviation and CBN to a round-table with operators, as part of measures to release trapped funds in the country and make flight tickets affordable.
Though CBN had said the foreign airlines were not its priority, the meeting ended with an agreement to release another batch of $150 million to the airlines. Some of the airlines, however, said such interventions have not helped their cause.
A top official said: “Some of us have not received any of the released funds as we speak. Yes, they promised $265 million then, I’m aware only a fraction has been released. It seems CBN is just trying to buy time, while our monies continue to increase.
International Air Transport Association (IATA) Regional Manager, Dr Samson Fatokun, earlier said the stranded fund scenario was quite embarrassing for the country, by having in its possession 36 per cent of all stranded funds globally.
Fatokun noted that the current problem did start in March 2020 with $700 million stranded in Nigeria, until $265 million was released.
