Air Peace, Max Air, Other Nigerian Airlines Cry Out Over $800m Trapped With CBN, Details Emerge
- Nigerian airlines have called on the CBN to pay the $800m trapped funds it owes them
- Air Peace, Azman Air, Max Air, and United Nigeria Airlines said the apex bank owes them over $54 million
- Most of the airlines that participated in the 2023 Hajj airlift are yet to be paid by the bank
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Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market
Four Nigerian airlines have over $54 million trapped with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) out of an estimated $800 million.
Air Peace, Azman Air, Max Air, United Nigeria Airlines, and others have raised concerns over the unpaid funds.
Source: Getty Images
Daily Trust reported that Air Peace has about $25 million trapped with CBN while Max Air has over $20 million with the bank. In addition, the apex bank owes Azman Air $7 million and United Nigeria $3 million.
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The amount comprised mostly of foreign exchange forward that was paid to the CBN for the 2023 Hajj operations.
Notably, only Air Peace, Max Air, Azman, and Aero Contractors participated out of the 12 scheduled commercial carriers.
It is understood that their money is yet to be fully paid.
CBN owes other airlines
The amount owed to eight other domestic carriers also demanding the release of their trapped funds has not been verified as of the time of this report.
Recall that the CBN recently commenced clearing FX backlog by paying some financial institutions $10 billion.
Meanwhile, it appears domestic operators have run out of patience. They are now grumbling about needing the dollar for maintenance of aircraft, leases, and other obligations.
For instance, Azman Air said it requires the fund to bring back three of its aircraft stranded at a maintenance facility abroad.
A source from the airline claimed it has more than $7m with CBN. The source revealed that the airline has not been paid for its Hajj operations, adding that it plans to use the fund to get back its aircraft.
Allen Onyema, the chairman of Air Peace said,
“We ferried 15 of our aircraft for maintenance overseas. We needed dollars to pay for the maintenance; so, we paid naira to CBN, which is equivalent to $14 million needed to pay and bring the aircraft back to Nigeria after the checks. We have not received this money."
He added that the money was borrowed at a 26% interest rate but six months have passed and the company is yet to get this money from CBN.
He also said that the airline is expecting a total payment of $24 million from the apex bank.
Tinubu gives orders as Nigeria owes Emirates, other foreign airlines $783 Million
In an earlier report by Legit.ng, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said as of August 2023, trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines in Nigeria stood at $783 million.
IATA’s regional vice-president for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Al Awadhi, disclosed this in a statement. He said the association recently engaged with the Nigerian government.
Source: Legit.ng
