Due to its locked funds, Emirates Airlines, based in Dubai, has permanently stopped flying into Nigeria.
The airline had no choice but to halt flights to and from Nigeria in order to reduce future losses, according to a statement released by the airline on Thursday and obtained by our correspondent.
“Emirates has continued to actively seek a solution for the repatriation of the remaining of its blocked monies in Nigeria,” the statement said in part. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s efforts to assess our request gave us hope, and we assumed that the subsequent clearance of our remaining cash would quickly remedy this urgent problem.
“However, Emirates has yet to receive an allocation of our blocked funds to be repatriated. Without the timely repatriation of the funds and a mechanism in place to ensure that future repatriation of Emirates’ funds do not accumulate in any way, the backlog will continue to grow, and we simply cannot meet our operational costs nor maintain the commercial viability of our operations in Nigeria.”
Emirates claimed that it had attended numerous hearings with the Nigerian government and had publicly voiced its views when this new decision was made necessary.
The airline also stated that it had made its suggested course of action for resolving this untenable situation clear. This included a plan for the progressive release of funds, which included the repatriation and receipt of at least 80% of its remaining blocked funds by the end of October 2022, as well as a guaranteed mechanism to prevent future repatriation accumulation difficulties and delays.
“We hope to reach a mutual resolution with the Nigerian government around the repatriation of blocked funds to enable the resumption of operations and connectivity for travelers and businesses,” the airline said.
As of the time this report was filled up, an attempt to book a flight from Abuja and Lagos on the Emirates webpage failed and produced an automatic notice about non-availability.
Kingsley Nwokoma, president of the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria, told the media during a phone interview that other airlines were most likely to follow Emirates’ lead.
He said, “Tickets are being sold every minute. That means there’ll be more funds stuck here so even if the Federal Government says they’re releasing XYZ amount, the problem has not been solved. The solution is for all parties to sit and deliberate on how these monies would be paid. Apparently, no airline will want to keep running at a loss because they are not even sure of the next day.
“Check the IATA figures. Yes, some other countries owe but not as much as Nigeria, and the airlines need this money to function. There’s a likelihood that other airlines might follow in the steps of Emirates if this is not properly diagonised.”
