Trapped Funds: Foreign Airlines Begin Charging Nigerians in Dollars
- Delta Airlines has started ticket sales to Nigerians in US dollars over trapped funds
- This comes as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said about $551 million belonging to foreign airlines remains trapped in Nigeria
- Apart from Venezuela, Nigeria is the most indebted country to foreign airlines in the world
One of the foreign airlines, Delta Airline, has begun selling tickets to passengers in Nigeria in US dollars as $551 million belonging to foreign airlines remains trapped in Nigeria.
It was gathered that this was to stop the continuous pilling up of the airline’s trapped funds in the country.
Source: Getty Images
IATA says Nigeria is most indebted country to foreign airlines
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Nigeria is the most indebted country to foreign airlines globally with $551 million trapped in the country.
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Other foreign airlines have threatened to start charging for ticket sales in dollars to mitigate the impact of the trapped funds and their inability to repatriate them.
Previous reports had hinted that APG Interline E-Ticketing, an airline servicing firm announced back in April 2022 that it will begin sales of tickets in US dollars as scarcity of foreign currency bites hard in Nigeria.
A message posted by APG stated to its Nigerian customers that it would begin issuing tickets in US dollars and not naira.
According to the group, the move became necessary due to the difficulty in repatriating trapped funds from Nigeria.
Federal government fumes, Delta insists
The current move by Delta Airlines has been resisted by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCCA), saying it goes against Nigeria’s policy on air travel.
Delta Airlines is the sole US carrier flying into Nigeria from Atlanta, Georgia.
A Nairametrics report said Jummy Echegrue, Delta Airline’s Sales Director for Africa, the Middle East and India confirmed the development.
The director said that the airline did not contravene any known Nigerian law on air travel, saying that the move is a part of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) arrangements between Nigeria and the US.
Echegrue said the measure became necessary to prevent more funds from being trapped in Nigeria.
He said the BASA agreement allows foreign airlines to sell tickets either in US dollars or in naira, stating that the airline is not thinking of stopping ticket sales or flights to Nigeria.
Nigeria tops countries with most trapped airline funds in the world
Legit.ng had reported that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) stated on Wednesday, December 7, 2022, that the number of airline funds due for repatriation but blocked by governments has hit $394 million in the last six months.
The body noted that blocked funds now total nearly $2 billion globally and in more than 27 countries.
The biggest five most indebted countries are Nigeria at $551 million, Pakistan at $225 million, Bangladesh at $208 million, Lebanon at $144 million and Algeria at $140 million.
Source: Legit.ng
