The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has renewed pressure on foreign airlines operating in Nigeria to end exclusive dollar-denominated ticket sales, arguing that the practice is shutting a large segment of Nigerian travel agencies out of the international air-ticket market.
Yinka Folami, president of NANTA, said the economic conditions that previously supported dollar-only ticketing had changed significantly, citing improved naira stability, greater foreign exchange liquidity and increased transparency in the remittance process.
According to Folami, only about three of more than 30 foreign airlines operating in Nigeria still sell tickets exclusively in US dollars, representing roughly 10 percent of the market.
He said the remaining dollar-only carriers were disproportionately affecting small and medium-sized travel agencies, which constitute a significant portion of NANTA’s membership.
NANTA has about 4,000 members, including 1,621 International Air Transport Association (IATA)-certified travel agencies. Folami said 1,274 of those IATA-certified agencies, representing more than 80 percent, operate under the IATA Go-Lite category, whose Billing Settlement Plan (BSP) transaction wallets do not permit dollar sales.
The implication, he said, is that more than 75 percent of NANTA members are effectively prevented from conducting direct ticketing business with airlines that insist on dollar-only transactions.
“This is not about confrontation with the airlines or the government,” Folami said, stressing that the association’s demand is for travel agencies operating in Nigeria to have access to naira-based sales channels.
NANTA’s argument is that the commercial rationale for exclusive dollar ticketing has weakened as conditions in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market have improved.
Folami said increased liquidity and greater transparency in the remittance process had altered some of the circumstances under which foreign airlines previously relied on dollar transactions.
He acknowledged that some carriers operate under Bilateral Air Service Agreements (BASAs) and other arrangements that may permit dollar transactions. However, he argued that the existence of such arrangements should not automatically translate into the continued exclusion of naira ticket sales where market conditions have changed.
The association is also anchoring its position on Nigeria’s aviation economic-regulation framework.
Folami cited Part 18 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) 2023, particularly Parts 18.6.1.1(c) and (d), which govern the economic regulation of air transport activities and provide for foreign airlines operating scheduled international services into and out of Nigeria to maintain ticketing offices at airports rather than opening city sales outlets.
NANTA has welcomed what it describes as a growing shift among foreign airlines towards General Sales Agent (GSA) arrangements and away from standalone city ticket offices.
The association specifically commended Etihad Airways for appointing a Nigerian GSA ahead of the Middle Eastern carrier’s planned return to the Nigerian market.
Folami said he had raised the dollar-ticketing issue with senior Etihad officials and welcomed the airline’s decision to work through a Nigerian GSA.
The development, according to NANTA, could provide a model for a wider restructuring of foreign-airline ticket distribution in Nigeria, particularly where local agencies can gain access to ticket sales through domestically based commercial partners.
A similar arrangement has emerged with Air France-KLM, which recently appointed Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NAHCO), through its subsidiary NAHCO Travel & Hospitality Limited, as its ticketing GSA in Nigeria under a five-year agreement.
The agreement authorises NAHCO to sell Air France-KLM tickets to travellers and travel management companies across Nigeria, extending its role beyond airport ticket-office operations into broader commercial ticket distribution.
Distribution battle
The dispute therefore extends beyond the currency used to price international tickets. It also touches on how foreign airlines distribute tickets and how much of that business remains accessible to Nigerian travel agencies.
For NANTA, opening naira-based ticketing channels would allow more local agencies, particularly smaller operators, to participate directly in international ticket sales rather than being restricted by the currency denomination or distribution arrangements of individual carriers.
The association is consequently calling on the remaining foreign airlines that maintain dollar-only ticketing arrangements, as well as the Federal Government, to resolve the issue and provide Nigerian travel agencies with greater access to naira-based ticket sales.
With only a small proportion of foreign airlines now operating exclusively on dollar ticket sales, NANTA’s campaign is increasingly focused on closing what it sees as the remaining gap between Nigeria’s aviation market and the distribution channels available to local travel businesses.
