The Dubai-based airline says it is suspending all flights, effective 1 September 2022, due to failure to repatriate $85m stuck in the country.
Dubai’s Long-haul carrier Emirates will suspend flights to Nigeria effective next month over an inability to repatriate funds from Africa’s most populous nation, the airline said 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.
Emirates said it had made no progress in efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention.
“Therefore, Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective 1 September 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market,” it 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.
Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy has restricted access to foreign currency for imports and for investors seeking to repatriate their profits due to a severe dollar shortage. 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 in June that Nigeria was withholding $450m in revenue that international carriers operating in the country had earned. The International Air Transport Association’s Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Kamal Al Awadhi, described talks with Nigerian officials to release the funds as a “hectic ride”.
Emirates said it would re-evaluate its decision if the situation over the blocked funds changed in the coming days. The airline announced that affected customers would be helped to make alternative travel arrangements where possible.
