Emirates is going to suspend flights to Nigeria from next month over an inability to repatriate funds from them. This was announced by the airlines on Thursday.
The decision highlights the difficulties faced by international carriers that fly to Nigeria, which is one of the biggest markets in Africa for several of them. The country has restricted access to foreign currency for imports and for investors seeking to repatriate their profits due to a shortage of dollars.
Nigeria gets about 90 percent of its foreign exchange from oil, but is struggling to produce due to pipeline theft and years of under-investment.
The International Air Transport Association said that in June Nigeria was withholding $450 million in revenue that international carriers operating in the country had earned.
“Emirates has tried every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria, and we have made considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution. Regrettably, there has been no progress. Therefore, Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective September 1, 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market,” an Emirates spokesperson said in a statement.
Emirates had earlier sent a letter to the government saying it could cut flights to Lagos this month because it could not get $85 million stuck in the country as of July, a figure that had been rising by $10 million per month.
Emirates said it would re-evaluate its decision if the situation over the blocked funds changed in the coming days.
Of course, if there are any affected customers, they would be helped to make alternative travel arrangements.
