{"id":110091,"date":"2024-01-12T17:07:15","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T16:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=110091"},"modified":"2024-01-12T17:07:15","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T16:07:15","slug":"we-may-stop-operating-into-nigeria-foreign-airlines-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/we-may-stop-operating-into-nigeria-foreign-airlines-warn\/","title":{"rendered":"We May Stop Operating Into Nigeria, Foreign Airlines Warn"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There are fears that some of the foreign airlines operating into Nigeria may exit if the trapped fund crisis remains unre\u00adsolved.<\/div>\n
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\nThis is as the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN) has described the $61 million recently released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as part of the blocked funds as \u201ca drop in the ocean,\u201d saying the money was insignifi\u00adcant when compared to the about $800 million owed the foreign air\u00adlines in the country.<\/p>\n

Dr. Kingsley Nwokoma, AF\u00adARN President, stated these on Thursday at the Murtala Mu\u00adhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, during an interaction with avia\u00adtion journalists.<\/p>\n

Nwokoma warned that if the crisis surrounding the debt was not resolved early, some of the airlines may follow Etihad and Emirates Airlines out of the country.<\/p>\n

He regretted that the Federal Government violated the Bilater\u00adal Air Service Agreement (BASA) arrangements signed with the various countries these airlines emanated from, stressing that the action portended negativity on the image of Nigeria.<\/p>\n

He attributed the blocked funds to one of the reasons air\u00adfares out of Nigeria were high, maintaining that the country was losing some of its potential travellers to neighbouring Afri\u00adcan countries.<\/p>\n

Nwokoma lamented that with the current situation, most of the foreign airlines operating into the country are taking money from their operations elsewhere to sustain operations in the coun\u00adtry.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWe are not saying the government should pay all, but the government should have a plan to pay a chunk of the money every quarter. The fear is that if it continues like this, some of the airlines may go.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last conversation we had with Mr. Festus Keyamo, the Min\u00adister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, seemed good. He sounded serious about the pay\u00adment and they have done $61 mil\u00adlion thus far.<\/p>\n

\u201cNigeria is just a very strange country. Some are still saying that the airlines should not be asking for any money from Nigeria. What is BASA? BASA is signed by countries and not airlines. We signed our commitment to the BASA and we are not doing any\u00adthing about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf all countries are defaulting like Nigeria, there will not be any airline that comes into the coun\u00adtry again. The aviation industry is predicated on the U.S dollars. You pay your catering, handling, hotel and a lot of things in dollars and if you don\u2019t pay, your crew would be sent out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nwokoma insisted that the $61 million released by the gov\u00adernment out of the $800 million was insignificant and without any impact on the operations of the foreign airlines.<\/p>\n

He advised the Federal Gov\u00adernment to discuss with the foreign airlines on the modes of payment for the blocked funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe foreign airlines are not talking about it because they felt it is a little drop. It is not some\u00adthing to be too excited about. If we have had about $300 million now or half of what the airlines are being owed, then, you can say there is hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government should sit with the foreign airlines just like how you sign your BASA agree\u00adments and agree on quarterly payment of these funds. The gov\u00adernment should please keep to that agreement. By then, we will be making progress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The CBN had last week dis\u00adbursed $61.64 million to foreign airlines through various deposit money banks (DMBs).<\/p>\n

According to a statement is\u00adsued by Mrs. Hakama Sidi-Ali, its Acting Director, Corporate Communications, in Abuja on Sunday, the disbursement was in fulfillment of CBN\u2019s commitment to eliminate the backlog of pend\u00ading matured foreign exchange in DMBs.<\/p>\n

Sidi-Ali had said that the initiative was part of the CBN\u2019s efforts to reduce its remaining liability to the airlines.<\/p>\n

Kamil Alawadhi, the Regional Vice President, International Air Transport Association (IATA), had said at the 7th Aviation Sum\u00admit held in Abuja, last year, that Nigeria owed the highest amount of airline trapped funds in the world.<\/p>\n

The amount of money, which consists of the accumulated funds generated by the over 27 foreign carriers operating in Ni\u00adgeria through the air transport services rendered to the Nigerian traveling public, but got trapped in the CBN due to forex scarcity, had continued to generate back\u00adlash both from within and outside Nigeria.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are fears that some of the foreign airlines operating into Nigeria may exit if the trapped fund crisis remains unre\u00adsolved. 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