We don’t determine exchange rate for int’l flight tickets, says IATA

By Business A.M. 

The exchange rate applied to international flight tickets sold in Nigeria are not determined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and it is incorrect to describe them as the “IATA exchange rate”, the association has said.

In a statement clarifying the matter, the association said air fares for international flights from Nigeria are denominated in United States dollars and converted into naira, the local currency, for sale in the Nigerian market.

The statement added that these conversions use the official prevailing exchange rate provided by the country’s financial system.

“IATA simply applies the spot rate at which the Central Bank of Nigeria sells USD through banks to the market, at its fortnightly retail foreign exchange auctions. The rate is not static, i.e., if the rate at which the CBN sells USD goes up, the exchange rate applied to airfares will follow and vice versa,” it stated.