In what appeared as a decisive step to check a brewing crisis in the aviation sector, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released $265million to airlines operating in the country to settle outstanding ticket sales.
A breakdown of the figure shows that $230 million was released as special FX intervention while another sum of $35 million was released through Retail SMIS auction.
This was disclosed in a statement made available on Friday by the Director, Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi.
He said: “The Governor, Godwin Emefiele and his team were concerned about the development and what it portends for the sector and travelers as well as the country in the comity of nations”.
He also stated that the CBN was “not against any company repatriating its funds from the country, adding that what the CBN stood for was an orderly exit for those that might be interested in doing so”.
The CBN added that with the release of the funds, operators and travellers will now heave a sigh of relief as some airlines had threatened to withdraw their services, following the non-release of unremitted funds for outstanding sale of tickets”.
It is instructive to note that Emirate Airlines had on August 18, announced that it “has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective September 1, 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market”.
But the airline was quick to state that “should there be any positive developments in the coming days regarding Emirates’ blocked funds in Nigeria, we will of course, re‑evaluate our decision”.
