No respite seems to be coming the way of foreign airlines in Nigeria over their funds trapped in the country’s foreign exchange difficulties.
Vanguard Aviation World gathered that despite the intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the volume of trapped funds is still rising, hitting $700 million, about 51 percent from the $346 million in September, 2022.
Recall that in August 2022, the CBN said it will release $265 million out of $456 million total outstanding due to the airlines, but in September, the airlines lamented that they were only able to access 50 per cent or $110 million of the amount, leaving a balance of $346 million.
Foreign airlines collect Naira for their tickets to customers and exchange the same for foreign currencies for their operations. But recently they said they have been unable to get the exchange executed through the official foreign exchange market due to scarcity of foreign exchange resources.
The Chairman of United Nigeria Airlines, Obiora Okonkwo, in a chat, stated that “This forex issue is affecting everybody. Today, manufacturers go to the bank to put in an invoice of $1 million and at the end of the day they might be lucky to get $50,000, this is the situation we find ourselves in, it is not a CBN issue as they can only give what is in their coffer.
“In a situation like this, these airlines could have a more creative way of spending their money, if there are bills they are paying in foreign currency they could negotiate with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, or other authority to give them a waiver so that they can use Naira to pay for these bills.
“If they want $400 million as of today, they can talk to about two or three banks in their country who will get them an I & E window and this will be over. If we the local operators can do that, why can’t they?
“We are watching, if CBN can give them the said amount, we will be happy because we know the money is there. We will also put up our bills which are also landing. They should also give us, the local operators, as foreign airlines cannot be given preferential rates.”
$700 million foreign airlines still trapped — IATA
Meanwhile, a representative of IATA, Samson Fatokun, disclosed that about $700 million of foreign airlines are still trapped despite the intervention of the CBN.
“The CBN should provide a timeline of how the funds are to be repatriated to assure the international airline operators.
“What we have right now is $700 million — our balance is $700 million. The airlines are reasonable by saying that the federal government of Nigeria should give them a plan for repatriation,” he said. (Vanguard)
