The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says $61.64 million has been paid to foreign airlines through various deposit money banks (DMBs).
In a statement released on Sunday, Hakama Sidi Ali, the acting director of CBN’s corporate communications department, spoke.
According to Ali, the CBN has redeemed nearly $2 billion in outstanding forward liabilities in the last three months.
According to her, the payment fulfilled the regulator’s pledge to clear the bank’s backlog of unpaid matured foreign exchange (FX).
“In fulfilment of its commitment to eliminate the backlog of pending matured foreign exchange in Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has recently disbursed approximately US $61.64 million to foreign airlines through various banks,” Ali said.
“This initiative is part of the CBN’s efforts to decrease its remaining liability to the airlines.
“This underscores the CBN’s commitment to the resolution of pending obligations and a functional foreign exchange market.
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“It is anticipated that this initiative would provide a considerable boost to the Naira against other major world currencies and further increase investor confidence in the Nigerian economy.”
Since July 2022, when the total amount hit $464 million, foreign airlines have struggled to repatriate their revenues.
In November 2022, Emirates Airlines halted flight operations to Nigeria in an effort to retrieve the funds.
In the global distribution system (GDS), British Airways (BA) also closed its inventory to Nigeria. This action stopped regional travel agencies from accepting reservations through their portals.
The CBN released $265 million to foreign airlines operating in the nation to settle outstanding ticket sales after multiple meetings by the authorities to resolve the impasse.
The Nigerian government’s ban on foreign airlines’ revenue repatriation climbed to $743 million in January 2023 from $662 million, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
However, according to IATA, the amount rose to $2.27 billion in April 2023, and Nigeria is now the country with the largest amount of unrepatriated airline funds globally.
