Emirates, other foreign airlines speak on $700m trapped in Nigeria, reveal next move

Foreign airlines have said that about 90% of their $783 million trapped funds in Nigeria remain unpaid.

The airlines revealed this at a stakeholders’ forum convened by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, in Lagos recently.

Nigeria is among the most indebted countries to foreign airlines

Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reveals that as of August 2023, Nigeria owes about $783 million of block funds belonging to airlines.

The airlines revealed that a significant portion of the funds remained inaccessible.

Nigeria has constantly cited a lack of Forex for unpaid debts as it grapples with huge backlogs, which it began to clear recently.

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 total nearly $2 billion globally and in more than 27 countries.

The 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.

According to the Chairman of International Airline Operators, Chima Kingsley, while international banks got some funds from the Central Bank of Nigeria, it only accounted for a small fraction of less than 1o% of the trapped funds.

Punch reports that Kingsley said the bulk of the funds are with commercial banks in Nigeria and remain unpaid.

President Bola Tinubu recently promised to clear the $7 billion outstanding Forex obligations owed by the Federal Government.

CBN began to clear the Forex backlogs blamed for the currency crisis in Nigeria, but the challenges have persisted in disbursing the funds.