Emirates suspends flights to Nigeria over trapped revenue

To reduce its losses from Nigeria, Emirates Airlines on Thursday announced that it was suspending all its flights in and out of the country.

The suspension by the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which begins September 1, 2022, was made known by the company in a statement.

The planned flights suspension in Nigeria is over the company’s inability to access its $85 million revenue locked away by the Nigerian government.

The airline is one of many foreign companies in the aviation sector that are unable to obtain or repatriate their foreign exchange of about $600 million due to the low forex reserve of the country – making it difficult for airlines to fund their operations.

In a statement released on Thursday, Emirates Airlines said its flight operation will end on September 1, to limit further losses and impact on the firm’s operational costs that continue to accumulate in Nigeria.

Read also:Emirates Airlines to accept Bitcoin for payment of flight tickets

Prior to its decision to shutdown operation, Emirates Airlines had reduced its flight operation from 11 weekly frequencies into Lagos Airport to seven.

The company said its willing to continue operation if there’s an intervention before September 1, “Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective 1 September 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market.

“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our customers, however, the circumstances are beyond our control at this stage. We will be working to help impacted customers make alternative travel arrangements wherever possible.

“Should there be any positive developments in the coming days regarding Emirates’ blocked funds in Nigeria, we remain keen to serve Nigeria, and our operations provide much-needed connectivity for Nigerian travellers, providing access to trade and tourism opportunities to Dubai, and to our broader network of over 130 destinations“, the statement reads.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now