Emirates Halts Flights To Nigeria From September Over $85m Blocked Revenue

Emirates Airlines says it will suspend all flights to Nigeria from September 1 after being blocked from repatriating its $85 million revenue in the country.

In a statement by the Airlines’ Public Relations Manager, Rula Tadros on Thursday, it said the “difficult decision” was taken to limit “further losses and impact on our operational costs” that continue to accumulate in the market.

“Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective 1 September 2022,” the airline said.

It said, “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,” the Airline added.

Emirates said it will be working to help impacted customers make alternative travel arrangements wherever possible.

The airline said should there be any positive developments in the coming days regarding Emirates’ blocked funds in Nigeria, it will re-evaluate its decision.

“We remain keen to serve Nigeria, and our operations provide much-needed connectivity for Nigerian travellers, providing access to trade and tourism opportunities to Dubai, and to our broader network of over 130 destinations,” the Airline said.

Recall that the airline had in a leaked letter to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said it would reduce its frequencies in Nigeria from 11 to seven by mid-August over its trapped $85m.

There are reports that other airlines may follow suit as blocked funds belonging to foreign airlines have hit over $600m which they are unable to repatriate as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) could not meet airlines’ request for dollars.

Nigeria’s bilateral air service agreement requires foreign airlines to issue their tickets in naira while the CBN provides the dollar equivalence for repatriation to their home countries.