Emirates Airlines has announced that it would reduce its flight operations in Nigeria from August 15 as a result of being unable to repatriate $85 million in revenue. This was disclosed in a letter addressed to the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.
The letter reads in part, “We have had no choice but to take this action to mitigate the continued losses Emirates is experiencing as a result of funds being blocked in Nigeria. As of July 2022, Emirates has the US $85 million of funds awaiting repatriation from Nigeria.
This figure has been rising by more than the US $10 million every month, as the ongoing operational costs of our 11 weekly flights to Lagos and 5 to Abuja continue to accumulate.
“Emirates did try to stem the losses by proposing to pay for fuel in Nigeria in Nairas, which would have at least reduced one element of our ongoing costs, however, this request was denied by the supplier.
“This means that not only are Emirates’ revenues accumulating, we also have to send hard currency into Nigeria to sustain our own operation. Meanwhile, our revenues are out of reach and not even earning credit interest”.
The letter further stated that the decision was reached after every effort to solve the issue failed which included meetings with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the letter, “Meetings were also held with Emirates’ own bank in Nigeria and in collaboration with IATA to discuss improving FX allocation, but with limited success. Despite our considerable efforts, the situation continues to deteriorate. We are now in the unfortunate position of having to cut flights to mitigate against further losses going forward”.
