Emirates to resume flights to Nigeria after release of funds

September 1, 2022 Elwin Mandowa

– –

Emirates has said that it will resume some flights to Nigeria this month after the Central Bank of Nigeria released a portion of funds the Dubai airline had earned in the country.

The airline had not been able to repatriate its funds from Nigeria and decided to suspend flights temporarily effective September 1.

An airline spokesperson said flights to Lagos will now resume from September 11. That means flights to Nigeria will be suspended for ten days.

Flights to Abuja though cannot be resumed in September, according to the airline because resources had already been stood down.

“We continue to engage with the Nigerian authorities to ensure the repatriation of our outstanding and future funds may continue without hindrance,” the spokesperson is quoted by Reuters as saying.

– –

Nigeria has restricted access to foreign exchange, a move that has impacted the operations of businesses like Emirates.

The country 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% of its foreign exchange from oil, but is struggling to produce due to pipeline theft and years of under-investment.

Nigeria’s Central Bank has said that it had released $265 million to airlines to settle outstanding ticket sales.

– –

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the largest airline group, had said that by July Nigeria was blocking airlines from repatriating $464 million in revenue.