CBN bars foreign airlines from accessing parallel market for funds repatriation

• Travel agents chide operators over exploitative fares on Nigerian routes
• Three million jobs at risk as airlines, agents shrink businesses

Despite defraying $265 million out of the $465 million and the accumulation of more airlines debts expected to hit $1 billion if nothing is urgently done, the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA) said the exploitative fares charged Nigerian travelers by international carriers is unacceptable.

This is coming as the CBN had bared international airlines operating in the country from patronizing the parallel market to source for foreign exchange in a bid to repatriate their funds.

As a result of that, they have had to wait endlessly for the Central of Nigeria (CBN) to open a window for them to get foreign exchange at the official rate.

A source from the travel agency who pleaded anonymity told Aviation Metric that it has become extremely ‘unlawful for them to patronize the alternative market for foreign exchange.

The travel agents in a press briefing yesterday in Lagos lamented that over three million jobs are at stake following the cut in travel by carriers and some of the airlines that have continued to threaten to leave Nigeria.

Until recently, Emirates and a few other airlines threatened to pull out of the country. The carriers are apprehensive as many of the airlines are already reducing the number of their Nigerian engaged workers which they noted have a spiral effect on businesses.

The travel agents equally noted that they are shutting down some of their offices because many Nigerians cannot travel because of the high fares charged by the carriers as the operators have closed their lower fare inventories with the lowest economic fares hitting n1.5 million from N300, 000 of what it used to be when the carriers’ funds were not trapped..

President NANTA, Mrs. Susan Akporiaye stated that in between these strangulating circumstances, the airlines withdrew lower inventories across the board, selling at the highest possible openings as a way to cushion their funds being trapped.

Akporiaye stated that despite paying the carriers 50 percent of their funds, she chided the operators for visiting the Nigerian travelling public with the most exploitative response in the name of protecting their business.

“As usual with them, their response which we could describe as ‘High Fare pandemic’, is solely targeted at Nigeria and Nigerians, and cannot be seen where in Africa even in countries where they also have their funds being trapped in Nigeria”.

 “Nigerians have to buy tickets to the tune of three to four million Naira be charged as high as one million Naira to change travel dates even on tickets before this trouble began”.

“We appreciate the response to the release of some funds, urge Government as a matter of urgency to open further windows of engagement and call for a meeting with all parties involved; to include CBN, Minister of Aviation, Minister of Finance, Foreign Airlines, NCAA, IATA”.

Akporiaye disclosed that many of the carriers are yet to get 50 percent of their total funds released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), adding that only 25 percent of the entire sum had been released to the carrier with a huge backlog making it extremely impossible for them to open the lower fare inventories.

She equally absolved the airlines of complicity in the whole saga of high fares, admitting that Nigeria violated all known Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) which allows foreign carriers to quickly repatriate their funds out of the country as quickly as possible, stressing that the country does not have the moral right to blame the carriers for some of their actions.

She noted that the problems of high fares by Nigerians would have been slightly reduced if the country had a national carrier to show a modicum of reciprocity with the foreign airlines but lamented that the indigenous carriers are small and lack the capacity to offer great services on the routes.

Wole Shadare