Nigeria pledges repatriation as foreign airlines trapped funds hit $743m

By Onome Amuge

The Federal Government of Nigeria has assured the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and foreign airlines operating in the country that it is making the neccessary moves to repatriate trapped funds which have risen to $743.7million from $662m in January, 2023.

Hadi Sirika,the minister of aviation, gave the assurance during a recent meeting with IATA and foreign airline operators, to discuss issues relating to trapped funds in the airline sector which has led to Nigeria being ranked one of  the countries with the highest amount of airline-blocked funds in the world.

Sirika, who expressed the government’s commitment to resolving the issue, urged international airline operators to be very considerate when dealing with the issue bearing in mind the effects of Covid-19 and the recession the country had experienced.

Prior to the meeting, IATA, in a letter,addressed to the aviation ministry, bemoaned the negative impact of the blocked funds on their operations.

The letter, signed by Samson Fatokun, IATA’s area manager for West and Central Africa, requested the aviation minister’s intervention for the resolution of airlines blocked funds issues in Nigeria.

“For over a year, Nigeria has been the country with the highest amount of airline-blocked funds in the world. Please find attached the comparative table of airlines’ blocked funds by country.

“Moreover, as of January 2023, airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria have increased to $743.721.092 from $662m in January 2023 and $549m in December 2022,” the statement read in part.