‘Foreign Airlines Trapped Funds Will Be Remitted Soon’

The Federal Government of Nigeria has taken a major step towards resolving the issue of trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines operating in the country.

The President of the National Association of Travel Agents of Nigeria (NANTA) Susan Akporiaye, disclosed this to our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday.

She explained that the payment to the foreign airlines would be made in installments.

Akporiaye stated, “There are moves from FG towards the payments of airlines’ trapped funds. The payment will be done in parts. Dates were not given, and the amount per airline will vary.”

There has been growing concern in the aviation industry over the trapped funds of foreign airlines.

Foreign airlines operating in the country have been unable to repatriate the revenue they generate from ticket sales due to foreign exchange scarcity in Nigeria.

Economic Confidential reported that foreign airlines’ trapped funds in Nigeria had risen to $802m

As of March, according to the International Air Transport Association.

As a result, IATA warned the Nigerian government that the situation could hamper air connectivity, economic growth, and the development of the country’s aviation sector.

Recall that in March, IATA had in a letter addressed to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, signed by the Area Manager West and Central Africa, Dr Samson Fatokun, noted that the trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines operating in Nigeria had risen by 12.39 per cent to $743.72m in January 2023, up from $662m in the corresponding period last year.

However, Sirika, in a meeting with the IATA team, foreign airlines and travel agents, assured the foreign airlines that he would take the issue up with the presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria.