The data represented a significant increase in ticket sales compared with the total of $800 million recorded in the whole of 2018.
IATA has projected $1 billion foreign airlines’ ticket sales for 2019.

While the improved economic climate encouraged more international travels by Nigerians on business and pleasure trips, as well as foreigners, who come into Nigeria for businesses, some Nigerians also travelled out in search of greener pastures.

Bankole Bernard, president of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Mr. Bankole Bernard, who confirmed the development in an interview  anticipated that the country might surpass the projected $1 billion by the end of the year due to the Christmas season, which records influx of inbound passenger movement, as many Nigerians return to the country to celebrate the Yuletide season.

Quoting IATA records, Bankole said, “The market has stabilised. There is upward trend and more foreign airlines have shown interest in Nigeria. This confirms that the industry is doing well under the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika. I am seeing significant changes. There are a lot of changes taking place under the minister.”

He acknowledged that generally the nation’s economy is not yet doing very well but projected that more Nigerians would be travelling overseas as the economy improved and that means more ticket sales by the airlines.

Bernard, the chief executive officer of one of the biggest travel agencies in Nigeria, Finchglow Travels, said the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) was pleased with the Nigerian aviation sector because of the positive air safety record, hence the high interest of foreign airlines in Nigeria.

He said: “For us in the downstream sub-sector of the industry there has been no default in payment of ticket revenues to the airlines like in the past. IATA acknowledged this and that is why it introduced IATA Easy Pay in Nigeria first before many other countries in the continent.

“In fact, Kenya, which hitherto had bigger travel agencies, came to understudy us. If we are not doing something good, they would not have come to understudy us and this shows that we are doing better than Kenya now.”

Travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ikechi Uko, attributed the increase in ticket sales to slight improvement in the economy, higher outbound flights as well as the search of greener pastures.
“From the figures made available recently by NANTA, there is increase in international passenger movement this year and last year due to slight improvement in the economy.

“There is also more one-way ticket on outbound flights, which many attributed to apprehension and many of those not coming back are heading to Canada and Australia. This is affecting the Nigerian middle class mainly; those with skills, from medical doctors, to bankers, engineers, journalists and even photographers. This is because these countries want to double their population but they are making the choice of those they want to allow to come. They have significantly reduced the middle-class population in Nigeria,” Uko noted.

However, some operators have expressed concern that over 85 per cent of ticket sales by the foreign airlines would be repatriated.
Industry consultant and CEO of Belujane Konsult, Chris Aligbe, said something has to be done urgently to recover the loss Nigeria was recording with the repatriation of huge foreign exchange from the country.

“We have to do something quickly and see how we can pull back the loss. If we don’t do something quickly it will escalate as our economy improves because more Nigerians will travel and that means more money for the foreign carriers. I don’t see how any responsible government will allow that to continue to happen,” Aligbe said.