Nigeria’s travel agencies lost N1 billion to ADMs in 2025

At the recent PartnerPlus Connect 14.0 event in Lagos, industry leaders revealed that Nigerian travel agencies lost at least ₦1 billion to Agency Debit Memos (ADMs) in 2025.

The forum, hosted by Finchglow Travels (a leading travel consolidator), brought together airlines, Global Distribution System (GDS) providers, and travel agents to address these “leaks” that are currently threatening the survival of many agencies.

An Agency Debit Memo (ADM) is essentially a fine or an invoice issued by an airline to a travel agent to recover lost revenue. The ₦1 billion loss was attributed to several key triggers.

To stem these losses, Finchglow and its partners (including airlines such as Emirates, Delta, and Air Peace, as well as tech providers like Travelport) outlined a multi-pronged strategy.

The Managing Director of Finchglow Travels, Ezekiel Ikotun, highlighted that his own system alone records roughly ₦70 million in leakages annually.

He warned that for some airlines, ADMs have evolved from a corrective tool into a “revenue product,” a trend the industry is now pushing back against through advocacy with bodies like NANTA.

“As I mentioned last year, based on verified, validated statistics, by 2025, we lost nothing less than N1 billion to the ADM by the industry players. And when you trace some of the things raised, they can be avoided. We have airlines that don’t even charge for ADM, simply because they put structures, systems and technologies in place to prevent such.”

He grounded the broader industry figure in Finchglow’s own experience, noting that the company alone has recorded significant annual losses.

“It’s been a major leakage for the past 20 years, and on average, from my own system, we experienced a lot of leakages, which is nothing less than N70m yearly to this huge system.”

Ikotun was clear that ADM is no longer just an operational challenge. Instead, he framed it as a long-standing structural problem that has persisted for over two decades.

“Simply because this product is used by the airlines, most of the airlines outsource it. Now, to those agencies that are handling it, they’re going to be paid based on whatever they are going to make. At times, the ADMs aren’t even valid, though there’s still a window for us to dispute them.

“Oftentimes, it can be via the GDS. If we follow due diligence, the GDS will most of the time ask us to send it to them, and they will refund us. Sometimes, if it’s through the airlines and we have reasons, when you say, “I did this,” and I have proof that I didn’t do it, most of the time it’s been recalled.

Ikotun linked the growing ADM burden to shifting customer behaviour. According to him, increased price sensitivity among travellers has squeezed agency margins.

This leaves little room to absorb unexpected charges. Customers are now highly price sensitive. If you lose even small amounts through ADM, you risk losing the entire deal.”

He added that the forum’s focus was not just to highlight the problem but also to raise awareness and introduce solutions to help agencies protect revenue.

From the airline perspective, Frehiwot Mekonnen of Ethiopian Airlines acknowledged the challenges while pointing to efforts to reduce friction.

She said airlines are introducing system improvements that will make cost implications clearer during the booking process.

“We are developing systems that will notify agents of additional costs per segment, so they know what to expect before ticketing.”

According to Mekonnen, these automated notifications will act as a guide, helping agents avoid errors that typically trigger ADM charges.

She stressed that the goal is not to penalise agents but to ensure transparency and compliance across the booking chain.

From the technology side, Travelport emphasised that many ADM cases are preventable with proper training and adherence to best practices.

The company highlighted that outdated booking habits and misuse of Global Distribution Systems (GDS) remain major triggers.

“ADM doesn’t give us joy. It eats into profits and shows gaps in how bookings are done across the industry.”

The Travelport representative, Senior Manager for Product and Helpdesk, Karen Ezechukwu, identified specific problem areas, including origin-and-destination (O&D) violations, improper ticket sequencing, and failure to follow airline inventory logic.