IATA Applauds As Central Bank of Nigeria Releases $265 Million To Airlines For Outstanding Ticket Sales

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced it released $265 million to airlines to settle outstanding ticket sales.

According to the CBN, “a breakdown of the figure indicates that the sum of $230 million was released as special FX intervention while another sum of $35 million was released through Retail SMIS auction.”

This followed the escalation of tensions in the airline industry as foreign airlines flying to Nigeria could not repatriate their earnings, causing Emirates Airlines to announce exit from the Nigerian market from September 1, 2022.

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Foreign Airlines have also resorted to selling only their higher fares and selling from abroad as a strategy to take hold of their revenue.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has expressed pleasure over the release of the money by the CBN, emphasising the essence of strong air connectivity to Nigeria’s economy.

“We welcome the decision of the Government of Nigeria @cenbank to release $265 million in airline #blockedfunds. Aviation and strong air connectivity are key enablers of #Nigeria’s economy,” IATA noted in a tweet.

There have been worries over more airlines choosing to suspend services to Nigeria after Emirates announced its stoppage of flights to Lagos and Abuja by September 1, 2022. The fears have been allayed by the Nigerian travel agencies association (NANTA), which stated that no other foreign airline is planning to quit the Nigerian market, apart from Emirates.

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