Foreign airlines groan under $250m FG debt

Nigeria is yet to remit the full value of ticket sales owed to foreign airlines, totaling about $250 million, representing 58 percent of the total amount, International Air Transport Association (IATA) has claimed.

The airlines are among other industry operators affected by the country’s earlier policy restricting repatriation of revenue in hard currency.

Confirming the development in a statement made available to Ripples Nigeria, IATA said it was still making effort to recoup the balance of the money due the airlines.

It, however, acknowledged that Nigeria is among 10 countries having hard currency crunch and which has trapped $5 billion of revenue of the airline.

In June, the value of ticket sales revenue trapped in Nigeria was reduced by 42 percent said IATA.

IATA spokeswoman, Mona Aubin, quoted the chief executive, Alexandre de Juniac, as telling reporters in Montreal, Canada: “The question of withholding airlines revenue is whether we can have a unified approach to say to the state: ‘You are not fulfilling your basic obligations to pay us.'”

IATA’s statement listed Venezuela, Nigeria and Ethiopia as countries leading the pack of nations withholding revenues of airlines operating from their countries.

As part of its measures aimed at denying economic recession, CBN in January 2016 placed a ban on repatriation of revenue to headquarters of the companies operating in the country.

It was only when most of the operators threatened pulling out of Nigeria that the government reversed itself, but scarcity of dollars has made it impossible to achieve 100 percent remission of the funds, said an official.

By Emma Eke

Ripples Nigeria…without borders, without fears

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