The International Air Transport Association has protested the decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to block foreign airlines from repatriating ticket sales revenue into their respective countries.
The ticket revenue amounts to $450m (N188.6bn).
IATA, which represents over 200 international carriers, spoke at a press briefing marking the opening of its 78thn Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Doha, Qatar on Sunday.
The Regional Vice President, Africa & Middle East, Kamil Al-Alawadhi, said the Federal Government’s decision was unacceptable, adding that the development could hurt Nigeria’s aviation industry.
The amount of foreign airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria estimated at $208m in the third quarter of last year had risen to $283m in the first quarter of this year.
The reported foreign exchange shortage in Nigeria has forced the Central Bank of Nigeria to give priority to certain sectors of the economy in terms of approving requests for forex.
But Alawadhi told journalists that aviation was key to Nigeria’s economic growth and there was a need for the CBN to grant foreign access to repatriate their ticket sales revenue.
According to him, the aviation sector is responsible for the creation of thousands of jobs and it will be wrong for the Nigerian government to deny carriers the opportunity to repatriate their revenue.
