For the second time since September, Dubai’s Emirates has canceled flights to Nigeria, claiming an inability to withdraw money from the country, the airline announced on Thursday.
Due to severe dollar shortages, many Nigerians and businesses are forced to buy foreign currency on the black market, where the value of the naira has been steadily declining.
A representative for Emirates said the airline had participated in multiple discussions with the Nigerian government and offered solutions to unblock payments that had been stopped in the past.
“Without the timely repatriation of the funds and a mechanism in place to ensure that future repatriation of Emirates’ funds does not accumulate in any way, the backlog will continue to grow, and we simply cannot meet our operational costs nor maintain the commercial viability of our operations in Nigeria,” an Emirates spokesperson said in a statement.
The issue of ticket funds being stuck in Nigeria has been plaguing international carriers for several months now. Emirates had suspended flights in August but reinstated them in September after the Nigerian government agreed to release some funds.
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