Airlines may disrupt flights to Nigeria, other African nations over blocked $1.6 bln funds ~IATA
Airlines warned on Monday that service to countries in Africa and elsewhere that block the repatriation of funds is likely to suffer if there is no progress in talks to unfreeze money owed.
About $1.6 billion of funds are being withheld in Africa for various reasons, representing two-thirds of the global total, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a briefing on strong prospects for growth in the continent’s airline market.
Nigeria is one of the countries owing international airlines in huge unremitted ticket money estimated at 46.43 percent of the total blocked funds in Africa.
A spokesperson for the global airline’s industry association IATA said that Nigeria was withholding $743 million in revenue earned by international carriers operating in the country, the highest amount owed by any nation.
Nigeria is facing severe dollar shortages, forcing many citizens and businesses to seek foreign exchange on the black market, where its naira currency has progressively weakened.
The dollar shortages have made it difficult for some foreign airlines that sold tickets in the Nigerian naira to get their money out of the country.
Global Financial Digest